Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos
03 May 2012 Leave a Comment
in appetizers, at least one kid ate it, chicken, Cooking for 2, freezes well, leftovers, Mexican
Oh holy cow. These are AMAZING. You can find the original recipe here. I’m going to also type out the recipe just in case the link doesn’t work at some point. That would be HORRIBLE if that ever happened. My only change is that I didn’t add the cilantro and green onions simply because I was cooking with four kids at my feet and completely spaced them. I did buy them.
This time I used leftover chicken I had in the fridge. Next time, I’ll be using the skinny crockpot chicken. A friend of mine has already made them using this chicken and also said they were amazing.
I also LOVE that you can put these all together, bake about how many you think you will eat, and then FREEZE the rest for another meal!!! Only one of my children tried this. She liked it, but only got half way through with it before deciding it was just a bit too spicy.
- 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup green salsa
- 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice (juice from half a lime)
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 Tbsp chopped cilantro
- 2 Tbsp sliced green onions
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
- 1 cup shredded Mexican flavored cheese
- small flour or corn tortillas
- kosher salt
- cooking spray
Fiesta Dip
12 Mar 2012 Leave a Comment
in appetizers, at least one kid ate it, company's coming!, Mexican
So, I just came to the website to figure out what I needed to make this dip for the teachers at school tomorrow. Had no idea I’ve never added this one! So yummy and so easy!
8 oz cream cheese
8 oz sour cream
1 pkg hidden valley FIESTA DIP mix (same size envelope as hidden valley ranch pkg)
8 oz shredded cheddar cheese
Mix above and serve with cracker sticks or veggies. YUM!
Hot Chip Beef Dip
09 Mar 2012 2 Comments
in appetizers, beef, company's coming!, crockpot, snacks
My mom made this over the holidays and I remember liking it. I made it last night for bunco. Even better than I remember! It was a HUGE hit. I just put it in my mini crock pot and it was perfect.
8 oz cream cheese
8 oz sour cream
small can mushrooms, drained and diced (Nic – just pretend that says fresh mushrooms 
2.25 oz jar of dried beef, diced (I bought a jar where it was sliced and then I diced it)
1/2 onion, diced
I diced the onion and put it in a microwave safe bowl with a tiny bit of water for about a minute to soften the onion. Drain and place in crockpot with cream cheese, sour cream, diced mushrooms, and diced beef. Serve with small pieces of french bread. So. Good. Can’t wait to eat the leftovers
No-Bake Energy Bites
31 Jan 2012 3 Comments
in at least one kid ate it, snacks, there's chocolate in this!
Holy cow. So good and so so easy. And, really, quite good for you. All three kids ate these! They are a great snack to have on hand. I will be making these regularly! I did make some changes so my recipe is below (only because I despise coconut…if you like it click the link for original recipe). Thank you, once again, pinterest. Original here.
1 and 1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup agave nectar
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla
Mix everything in a bowl. Let chill in refrigerator for about an hour. Once chilled, roll into balls and enjoy. Store in tupperware and keep refrigerated.
I added extra oatmeal and chocolate chips to make up for the missing coconut. After I made them, I read in the comments that some substituted crushed cheerios for the coconut. I’m definitely doing this next time! They formed into balls easily in the beginning but by the end my hands were a mess! I think adding crushed cheerios would help with this. So, I’ll cut the oatmeal back down to a cup. Original calls for 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips, but I may keep that at 3/4 cup. It didn’t feel like too much to me!
This makes about 20, and I’m not kidding when I say we have about 5 left from yesterday. Yummy!
White Chicken Enchiladas
30 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
in at least one kid ate it, casserole, chicken, company's coming!, leftovers, Mexican
Pinterest – seriously amazing. Ok, the original recipe here came from pinterest. But, I did make some changes and used leftover skinny crockpot chicken in mine. So good.
- 10 soft taco shells
- 2-3 cups skinny crockpot chicken (original recipe calls for 2, I used more like 3)
- 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- 3 Tbsp butter
- 3 Tbsp flour
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 (4 oz) can diced green chillies
Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9×13.
Mix chicken and 1 cup cheese. Roll up in tortillas and place in pan.
In a sauce pan, melt butter, stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Add broth and whisk until smooth. Heat over medium heat until thick and bubbly.
Stir in sour cream and chilies. Do not bring to a boil, you don’t want curdled sour cream.
Pour over enchiladas and top with remaining cheese.
Bake 22 min and then under high broil for 3 min to brown the cheese.
Kayla did eat a bit of this. The other two wouldn’t touch it. One is better than none, right?
Grilled Balsamic-Garlic Crusted Pork Tenderloin
30 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
in at least one kid ate it, company's coming!, grill, Pork
Thank you pinterest. Here’s another one from my addiction – pinterest. So so good. Original recipe here.
- 4-5 garlic cloves, finely minced or crushed (I just used minced garlic from the jar)
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 pork tenderloins
- 2 tablespoons canola oil (if preparing in oven) – we grilled since we are having such a mild winter. wonderful.
Stir together garlic, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, and olive oil in a small bowl. Rub the paste all over pork. If you like or have the time, marinate overnight. If not, no worries, it’s still great! I did this in the morning and it was awesome.
Grill preparation:
Sear the tenderloins on all sides, then grill for about 20-30 minutes, rotating every 10 minutes. Grill until internal temp is 160.
Oven preparation:
Preheat oven to 400. Heat canola oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Working in batches if necessary, add pork, and brown all over, about 4 minutes.
Transfer pan to oven. Roast pork, turning occasionally, until internal temperature is 160, about 20 minutes.
This was so, so good. All three kids tried it. Only one liked it enough to eat more. I don’t know why, but my kids aren’t huge meat eaters unless you count chicken nuggets as meat. Or lunch meat. Seriously, what is wrong with them?!? :)
Crunchy Peanut Butter Mix
04 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
in at least one kid ate it, dessert, there's chocolate in this!
Confession. The girls and I bake a LOT of sweets around the holidays. Oh. My. Gosh. Seriously, this stuff is oh so good. And, like my girls would say this is easy peasy, lemon cheesy.
recipe found via pinterest
4 cups golden grahams cereal
2 cups cocoa puffs cereal
2 cups thin pretzel sticks
1 cup reese’s pieces (I’ve already admitted my love for these)
1 cup dry-roasted peanuts
10 oz white chocolate baking bars, chopped
1/2 cup powdered sugar
In a large bowl, mix cereals, pretzels, reese’s pieces and peanuts; set aside
In a microwavable bowl, microwave white chocolate until melted and chocolate can be stirred smooth. Pour over ceral mixture, stirring until evenly coated.
In a large resealable plastic bag, toss half of the cereal mixture with 1/4 cup of the powdered sugar until evenly coated. Repeat with the remaining cereal mixture and remaining powdered sugar.
Enjoy!
Mini Phyllo Tacos
03 Jan 2012 4 Comments
in appetizers, at least one kid ate it, beef, Mexican
These are meant to be an appetizer, but we made a meal out of them. I served mexican rice with them and it was plenty of food. They would be great as an appetizer also!
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 envelope taco seasoning
3/4 cup water
1 1/4 cups shredded mexican cheese blend, divided
2 packages (1.9 oz each) frozen miniature phyllo tart shells
Cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in taco seasoning and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in 1/2 cup cheese blend.
Place tart shells in an ungreased 15×10 baking pan. Fill with taco mixture.
Bake at 350 for 6 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese blend; bake 2-3 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.
Oatmeal Mini Pieces Cookies
03 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
in at least one kid ate it, dessert
I found this recipe on the back of a mini reese’s pieces bag. SO good. I’m recording it here in case it’s not on the next bag I buy because they were that good. And, if you know me well, you know that I can’t pass up reese’s pieces. My fav.
2/3 cup shortening
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 1/3 cups Reese’s mini pieces candy
Heat oven to 350. Lightly grease cookie sheet.
Beat shortening, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in a large bowl until fluffy; beat in egg and vanilla. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; add alternately with milk to sugar mixture. Stir in oats and candy pieces. Drop by scant 1/4 cupfuls onto prepared cookie sheets.
Bake 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool 10 (TEN) minutes on cookie sheet. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.
Martha Stewart’s Creamy Mac-and-Cheese
19 Dec 2011 Leave a Comment
in casserole, company's coming!, Pasta, side dishes
Holy amazing. This is the best homemade mac-n-cheese I have ever had. Little bit of a spice to it so my kiddos wouldn’t eat it. They did try it though BUT, I’ll still make it again. So good. Some neighbors had a get together with catered bbq and this was great with it.
Serves about 12 so definitely a good recipe for a get together.
- 1 stick unsalted butter, plus more for casserole (I actually bought unsalted butter for this and then forgot to use it and it was fine)
- 6 slices white bread, crusts removed, torn into 1/4-1/2 inch pieces (really I just quickly ripped it apart)
- 5 1/2 cups milk
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tspns coarse salt
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 4 1/2 cups grated sharp white cheddar cheese
- 1 1/4 cups grated romano cheese
- 1 pd elbow macaroni
Preheat oven to 375. Butter a 3 qt casserole dish; set aside. Place the bread in a bowl. In a small saucepan melt 2 tablespoons butter. Pour the butter into the bowl with the bread, and toss. Set the breadcrumbs aside.
Warm the milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Melt the remaining 6 tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium heat. When the butter bubbles, add the flour. Cook, stirring, 1 minute.
While whisking, slowly pout int he hot milk a little at a time to keep mixture smooth. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick 8-12 minutes.
Remove the pan from heat. Stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne pepper, 3 cups cheddar cheese, and 1 cup romano; set cheese sauce aside.
Boil pasta until outside of pasta is cooked and inside is underdone, 2-3 minutes. Transfer the macaroni to a colander and rinse under cold running water. Stir the macaroni in to the reserved cheese sauce.
Pour the mixture into the prepared dish. Sprinkle the remaining 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, 1/4 cup romano, and the breadcrumbs over the top. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes.
