Chicken & Rice

Let me start by saying that my husband rocks. If I make something and it's horrible...he just tells me:-) Tonight he told me that dinner was so good...I should take a picture of the empty plate and tell you guys "this is what a good dinner looks like" LOL. He is so cute. He knows how much I love to blog...

I tried chicken and rice tonight with veggies. I haven't ever made chicken and rice...I know that's hard to believe but I really haven't:-) This is what I came up with and it was YUMMY!!!

I bought the bad of frozen chicken breasts just because they are cheaper...and as long as you thaw them out the correct way they aren't too bad.

I took 2 chicken breasts and put them in a freezer plastic bag...I added some fresh lemon juice...pepper....garlic powder and a little season all. Shake the bad to mix everything together and then put it in the fridge overnight to thaw.

Preheat oven to 350. Add one cup of rice, 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth (or water) and about 3-4 tbs of cream of mushroom soup into a baking pan. Mix together well. Place marinated chicken on top of rice mixture and bake for about 30-40 minutes or until the rice and chicken is done.

For the veggies (THAT TOTALLY ROCKED) I steamed the zucchini and squash (chopped) first for about 10 minutes...just until soft but not mushy. Then I took the squash and zucchini, a handful of grape tomatoes and 1/2 onion... and sauteed them with 2 tbs butter and salt and pepper for about 6-7 minutes.

Clear as mud??? I am not good at giving directions when I didn't have a recipe to follow...lol...I just through it together...but it was too good not to share:-)

Turkey Tacos with tomato, onion & avocado salsa

Joel and I are trying to eat turkey instead of beef. So far I have found a chili recipe that is better with turkey and wanted to see if I could make a taco recipe with turkey as well. It turned out great!!! If I would have given it to the kids and not told them it was turkey they wouldn't have known.

To make the tacos...I simply sauteed some onion and a bell pepper (chopped) in a pan for about 4-5 minutes...then add one pound of ground turkey meat. Stir and brown until turkey is done. You don't need to drain the grease because there isn't any!! YAY for NO GREASE! Then I just added a taco seasoning package as normal...Stirred it and keep warm until ready to eat

Tomato/Avocado Salsa

This was soooo good!
1 ripe avocado peeled and chopped
2 handfuls of grape tomatoes sliced in half
1/2 small onion chopped
1 wedge of fresh lemon juice
salt
pepper
olive oil (maybe 1/2 tablespoon)

Mix together in bowl...add salt and pepper to taste! YUM!

Put turkey meat and salsa on flour tortilla and add any other toppings you would like. I added a little sharp cheddar and sour cream!

ENJOY!!!

Chicken Cordon Bleu

YUM!! Joel LOVES Chicken Cordon Bleu...so I figured it was time for me to try to make it. I looked up 1,000 recipes and didn't see one that sounded good...so I just decided to wing it. Boy was is good:-) Try it out!!!

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts (thin....pound them down)
parmesan cheese (about 1/2 cup)
1 cup of milk
butter (of course:-))
flour
2 eggs (whisked)
4 slices of good swiss cheese
4 slices of good smoke ham
olive oil
salt and pepper
garlic powder


Directions:
Pound each chicken breast until it is thin....almost too thin. place one slice of ham and one slice of cheese on the top of the breast. Roll it up and secure with a toothpick. Roll the chicken in egg mixture and then roll in flour. Brown chicken in skillet with olive oil and butter. Brown all sides then remove chicken and put on paper towel until all chicken is browned. Put in a baking dish and put in oven at 300 for about 15 minutes or until chicken is done and cheese is melted...yummy!

Sauce:
In a medium saucepan put about 2 tbs of butter and once the butter starts to bubble add 1 cup of milk...whisk until smooth. Add salt and pepper...parmesan cheese...and a dash or two of garlic powder. Keep whisking until sauce thickens. Pour sauce over chicken. mmmmmm...it's soooo good!!!

Bacon Egg and Cheese Bake

My step kids have been telling me about this for a while....I asked their Mom for the recipe and she gave it to me...thanks Lisa:-) I tried it out the other morning....it was a hit!! I didn't have everything she said to put in it...so I just used what I had and it was YUMMY! This will be made again in my house for breakfast for sure:-)

Ingredients:
1 package crescent rolls (uncooked)
6 eggs
milk
cheddar cheese
butter
cream cheese
salt and pepper
4 slices of bacon cooked and chopped up

Directions:

Cook bacon...cut up and sit to the side. Place half of the crescent rolls on the bottom of a baking pan. Poke holes in them with a fork like you are making a pie crust. Bake in the over for 5-10 minutes on 300. Pull out of oven and set to the side. Scramble 6 eggs in a bowl...add a little milk (not sure how much...less then 1/2 cup) then add scrambled eggs to a buttered skillet. Once the eggs are about done add the cooked bacon. Stir together and then add about 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese to the eggs. Stir to melt the cheese and remove from heat. Spread cream cheese on the top of the cooked crescents in the baking pan. Add eggs to baking pan. Put the other half of the uncooked crescents on top of the eggs. They don't have to be together....leave some gaps in them. Spread another layer of cream cheese on top of the crescent rolls...top with cheese and bake about 15-20 minutes until the top layer of crescents are done. DONE!!! YUMMY! Lisa also added sour cream to the eggs when scrambling....and topped the whole thing off with fresh tomatoes:-) You can mix it up however you like...use bacon....veggies...ham...etc! ENJOY!!!

Thanks Lisa for the yummy recipe:-)

Taco Salad

I LOVE this Taco Salad. It's light...yet filling...and has great flavor!!! I used the seasoning...but you could use taco seasoning if the whole cumin and chili powder action freaks you out:-) MUST TRY!!! Great EASY...healthy...(with turkey...PROTEIN) meal!!! Don't tell anyone and they will have NO idea it's turkey instead of beef:-)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup prepared salsa
• 1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound 93%-lean ground turkey(or beef)
  
• 2 large plum tomatoes, diced
• 1 14-ounce can kidney beans, rinsed
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• you can use taco seasoning instead of the above two ingredients
  
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 8 cups shredded romaine lettuce(or iceberg)
  
• 1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

Combine salsa and sour cream in a large bowl.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add turkey and cook, stirring often and crumbling with a wooden spoon, until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, beans, cumin and chili powder; cook, stirring, until the tomatoes begin to break down, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in cilantro and 1/4 cup of the salsa mixture.

Add lettuce to the remaining salsa mixture in the bowl; toss to coat. To serve, divide the lettuce among 4 plates, top with the turkey mixture and sprinkle with cheese.I added sliced avacado to the top as well:-)

Sock It To Me Cake

My friend Stacey gave me this recipe:-) It's very good...and not too sweet. I can't handle too sweet:-) Thanks Stacey!!!!

Ingredients:
1 box Duncan Hines Yellow Cake Mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup of sugar
2/3 cup Wesson oil and fill up to 3/4 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 80z container of sour cream
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tbsp brown sugar


Pour 1/2 batter in bunt pan. Sprinkle 1tbsp of cinnamon and 1 tbsp of brown sugar over batter. Pour remaining batter and bake on 350 for one hour.

YUMMY! ENJOY:-)

Ranch Tilapia

I am trying to find ways to cook Tilapia. I haven't cooked a lot of fish in my time:-) This recipe was simple and had great reviews...so I tried it out! The reviews were right. It was delicious!!! Even for those of you who don't like fish a lot would probably love this!!! Try it out!! Eat a little healthier every once in a while:-)

Ingredients:
4 tilapia fillets
3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1 (1 ounce) package dry Ranch-style dressing mix
2 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons of butter (maybe a little more for cooking)
parmesan cheese (as much as you want)

Place breadcrumbs in a bowl. In a shallow dish mix the dressing and oil to form a paste. Coat the tilapia in the ranch mixture then dredge in the bread crumbs to lightly coat. Sautee the fillets about 5 minutes on each side until golden brown and easily flakes with a fork.

Put fillets in a baking dish and spinle top with parmesan cheese and a few dabs of butter. Broil until the butter is melted and the cheese is browning.

Serve!!! YUMMY!!!!