#219: Tex-Mex Chicken and Barley Soup (my way)

I found this recipe in one of the books I got from my cookbook swap (thanks Kim!).  The book is called Getting Thin and Loving Food...let's be honest, I partly swapped for the book because of the title.  Anyhow, I found this soup recipe and figured I'd give it a try.  You are supposed to make this in a soup pot on the stove.  That required too much work, so I threw it all in the crockpot instead.

1 tsp olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced (I used about 15 baby carrots diced)
6 c chicken brother or water (I used chicken broth)
3/4 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 c barley (I used quick cooking)
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1 avocado, peeled, pitted and sliced (I omitted...I'm still mad at avocados for ruining my salad a few days ago!)
1/4 chopped cilantro
1 lime (cut into 6 wedges) (I used some juice and just squeezed it into the crockpot)

I'm not giving you the stove top directions...there is too much to type.  You get my version instead!

In a small pan, sautee onion and carrot in olive oil until they begin to get a little soft.  Meanwhile in a crockpot add chicken broth, chicken, diced tomatoes, cumin, chili powder, oregano, salt, and pepper.  Add sauteed onion and carrots.  Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or until chicken is cooked through.  Remove chicken and shred with two forks.  Return to crockpot to reheat.  Add barley.  Chop cilantro and add to the crockpot along with lime juice.  Continue to cook on high until barley is fully cooked.  (Mine took about another 10 mintues).  Ladel into bowls and top with avocado (which I did not do).  Serve. 

#218: Monkey Bars

I got this recipe from my Sneaky Chef cookbook and I made them for the girls to take to school on Monday.  I was a little worried about this recipe; I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out.  I actually really like these!!  I doubled the recipe and made this is a 9x13 pan.  It is suggested to drizzle melted white chocolate on top, and I intended to drizzle some semi-sweet choc chips on top, but I got lazy.  These are very moist and I can't stop thinking about the thin row of bar I just ate, so hopefully these will last until the girls take them to school.  :) Just kidding...I'll have to box them up so I'm not tempted. 

5 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 Orange Puree (sweet potato and carrots)
2 large bananas, mashed with the back of a fork (about 1 cup)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Powdered sugar, for dusting (I omitted)
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick-cooking)
3/4 cup Flour Blend (I used 1 c all purpose flour, 1/2 c whole wheat flour and about 1/4 c wheat bran)
Optional Decoration: 1/2 cup white chocolate chips, melted in microwave

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Butter or spray only the bottom, not the sides, of an 11x7-in or 9-in square baking pan. Lightly dust with flour.  In a saucepan over medium -low heat, melt the butter, sugar, and salt. Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool a bit. Once cool, whisk in the Orange Puree, bananas, vanilla, and egg yolks. Add the oats and Flour Blend and mix until just combined. Pour the entire mixture into the prepared baking pan and bake for 37 to 39 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool completely in pan before cutting into approximately 3-in bars.

 If desired, dust with powered sugar when cool, or drizzle melted white chocolate in a striped pattern across the tops of the bars.

Keeps for a week in the refrigerator, covered tightly.

#217: Asian Lettuce Wraps

Oh, this was so good!  I can't wait to make it again! 

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 pounds ground turkey
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce (I omitted)
2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce
1 cup bean sprouts (about 4 oz.)
2 carrots, shredded (about 1 cup)
24 large Boston or butter lettuce leaves
Soy sauce, optional


Warm oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté until softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute longer. Stir in turkey and cook, stirring, until almost cooked through, about 5 minutes. Add broth and hoisin sauce. Cook, stirring and breaking up clumps of turkey, until turkey is cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in teriyaki sauce, bean sprouts and carrots. Spoon about 1/4 cup of filling into center of each lettuce leaf. Serve with soy sauce, if desired.

#216: Guacamole Salad---sort of

Last week I had a cookbook swap with some friends.  Several of the last few recipes I've posted have come from one (or more) of the cookbooks I swapped for.  This is a recipe I got out of one of Rachel Ray's cookbooks.  It was SUPPOSED to have avocado in it.  I didn't get it at the grocery store on Sunday because the avocados were $2 each!  That's insane.  So today I really wanted to eat this with our enchiladas and went to a different store to get one and still paid $1.50 but it was so under-ripe I could barely cut into it.  In fact, when I finally did cut through it I realized I cut right through the pit!!  I tried eating it, but did you know an under ripe avocado is disgusting?!  So I ditched the avocado and made it with most of the remaining ingredients.  I LOVED it.  It would be better w/the avocado but it was still delicious!  In fact, I ended up eating this almost like a salsa.  YUM!  YUM!!


2 medium haas avocados, pitted and sliced (I omitted...this time!)
2 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/2 English (seedless) cucumber, chopped
1/2 red onion, sliced (I sauteed mine a little first because I'm not a huge fan of raw onions)
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped (I omitted)
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 small clove garlic, chopped
A few drops hot sauce (I omitted)
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil


Directions
Arrange vegetables on platter. Mix lemon and garlic, hot sauce and salt. Stream in extra-virgin olive oil while whisking dressing. Pour lemon dressing over the salad and serve.

#215: Macaroni and Cheese Muffins

I really, really wanted to like this recipe.  But I should have known that adding egg into the mixture would impact this recipe negatively for me.  I made these for the girls to take to school and according to Darla, this got mixed reviews from the kids (some loved it and others did not!). 

4 large eggs

1 cup Orange Puree (see Make-Ahead Recipe #2)
2 cups low-fat shredded cheese (I used about 1 1/2 c)
2 cups cooked macaroni (I used 3 c)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a muffin tin with paper liners. Lightly spray liners with oil.
In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and Orange Puree. Mix in the macaroni and 1 cup of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Divide the mixture evenly among the 8 muffin cups. (I got 16 of these) Top each with about one tablespoon of cheese and bake for 20 to 22 minutes, until cheese is lightly browned and bubbly on top.

#214: Haricots Frites

Dear Rachel Ray,
I LOVE this recipe!  I love haricort verts (ie. skinny green beans!) and this recipe was the perfect way to cook them.  Thank you for sharing.

Tracy
1 1/4 pounds, 4 large handfuls, haricots verts - thin green beans, trimmed
2 tablespoons light in color oil, such as vegetable oil or peanut oil
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
Salt


Bring 2 inches water to a boil in a large skillet. Salt water once it comes to a boil. Blanch haricots verts in boiling water 2 minutes, drain and cool. Pat beans dry on paper towels.


Dry skillet as well and return to heat. Heat pan over high flame and add oil to coat the bottom of pan. Add beans to hot oil and stir fry using tongs to move and toss the beans until they are charred and very hot, 3 to 4 minutes. Sprinkle beans with sesame seeds and cook 30 seconds more, to both toast the seeds and distribute them. Pile fried beans onto a serving plate and sprinkle with salt, to your taste.

#213: Kale-Apple Smoothie

I love smoothies...I don't love this one as much as some of the others I've tried.  If you don't mind a texture-y chunk to your smoothie, then you might like this one.  Just don't look at it as you drink it and you'd never know it was green.  The juice itself is actually pretty good, but I had to strain the kale residue out and that just took too much time and effort. 

Unfortunately after I took the picture I knocked this into the sink, so I only got about 3 sips before it was spilled.  What a waste of time!!

3/4 c chopped kale (ribs and thick stems removed)
1 small stalk celery, chopped (I omitted)
1/2 banana
1/2 c fresh apple juice
1/2 c ice
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and frothy.

#212: Homemade Salsa

Easy, quick, yummy...and a little spicy!  Enough said!  I hope my fellow book-clubbers enjoy this as much as I do!2 cans diced tomatoes (I used mexican diced tomatoes w/green chilis)
1/3 onion, chopped
1/3 bunch of cilantro
2 green onions, chopped
1/3 green pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 can diced green chilies (I omitted b/c of the tomatoes above)
couple shakes of garlic salt, onion salt, and pepper  (I omitted the garlic salt and onion salt)


Put all ingredients into a blender. Give it a couple of pulses until well blended. Store in refrigerator for up to a week.

#211: Spiced Pumpkin Smoothie

I have to apologize for my beverage photos!  We only use plastic tumblers, (all glass are currently packed away), kids sippy cups, coffee cups, margarita classes, or red Solo cups...none of which are see thru (except the margarita glass, but that's just tacky!).  So whenever I want to take a picture of a drink, I have to use my magic bullet cup (9 times out of 10 I probably needed it to make the drink anyways!). 

I was starting to tire of my pineapple banana smoothie, so I decided to try making this recipe, which I also found in my Real Simple Magazine (Feb 2011).  If you like pumpkin, you're going to love this one!!  This is going to be made probably most days this week for breakfast.  I can't wait for the girls to try it!!

Update: Neither of the girls were big fans of this.  Allison took a sip and then said, "Is there squash in this?" 

1 c ice
1/2 c whole milk (I used skim)
1/3 c pure pumpkin puree
1 tbsp honey
pinch of ground nutmeg.

Combine all in a blender and blend until smooth and frothy.  DELICIOUS!!!

#210: Pineapple Cobbler

Just before Angela and I were about to finish this off, I realized I never took a picture of it.  So I basically took a picture of the last piece...sorry it wasn't any better!

 Since the bacon cheddar dip I made for my GNI was so easy, I decided I could/should make something else to go with it.  I had another recipe saved that required minimal ingredients, so I figured I'd give it a try.  This recipe was so easy to prepare and went over pretty well.  My sister-in-law Angela and I finished this one off with two forks at the end of the night....picking out and around the pineapple though.  :)   The cake/batter part of this is delicious; but what could be wrong with 1 c sugar and 1 stick of butter?  The fruit just hindered your ability to enjoy the cake.  Allison and Chloe even enjoyed this as they hung out with us for a little while.  Next time I will probably try this with half of the amount of pineapple and try pineapple tidbits instead.  Also, you MUST serve this with ice cream.  It would have been 100 times better that way. 
 1 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 stick (1/4 lb.) unsalted butter, melted
1 (20 oz.) can pineapple chunks in juice, drained

Preheat oven to 375°F. In a bowl, mix flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, milk and vanilla extract; stir until mixture forms a smooth batter. Gently stir in butter.  Spread batter evenly in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish (it will be a very thin layer) and scatter pineapple chunks evenly over batter.

Bake until pineapple has fallen to bottom of pan and top is puffed and golden brown and springs back slightly when touched in middle, 25 minutes.  (Mine never sprung back.  Everytime I touched it, it fell into itself a little bit.  I probably cooked mine for more like 35 minutes, and took it out as I thought it was getting too brown on top).   Cool cobbler slightly and then serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, if desired. (Yes, you do desire!)

#209: Creamy Bacon-Cheddar Dip

I can't believe I forgot to take a picture of this!!  I guess I'll have to make it again so I can upload a photo.

I planned a cookbook swap as a Girl's Night In event for my "mom's group" and made this dip to serve at it.  (I ripped this one out of my Kraft Foods Magazine). This is THE EASIEST dip I've probably ever made.  It required minimal ingredients, and you just mix it all together and serve.  (Of course you need to let it sit at least several hours so the flavors can blend, but that's no big deal!)  PS...we all loved this one!!

1 c sour cream (I used reduced fat)
1 c miracle whip (I used light)
1 c shredded cheddar (I used mexican blend because that's what I had on hand)
4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (I used about 1/3 c real bacon bits)
2 green onions, sliced (I used about 4 green onions)

Mix all together.  Serve with crackers (I used Ritz).  Told you this was easy!

#208: Apple-Pear Sauce

I had a bunch of apples and pears that were starting to go bad, so I decided to make some applesauce with them.  I used my vidalia chopper to cut the fruit into small pieces, threw it all in my crockpot with a few other ingredients and viola!  Quick, inexpensive and not going to last very long!  : )

Apples and Pears, peeled, cored and chopped into small pieces or chunks (I used about 4 apples and 5 pears)3 Cinnamon sticks (I used 4...wait, how am I making changes to my own recipe!?)1/3 c water

Combine all ingredients in a crockpot.  Stir to combine.  Cover and cook on high for about 3 hours.  If you want smooth sauce you either need to mash with a potato masher, pulse in a food processor or blender or use an immersion blender (I used the immersion blender).  I personally like my applesauce a little chunky so I didn't puree it all the way.  Let cool and serve.  Or if you're like me, I had to try this right away and totally burnt my tongue doing that.  So I suggest letting it cool!

#207: Harvest Chicken & Potatoes

The original recipe was supposed to be more like a stew.  My family doesn't eat stew (I do, but not the others), so I left the chicken in "chicken tender" size pieces and cooked it that way instead.  My girls are not big potato fans (unless they come in a fry or chip form) so they mainly at just the chicken.  Brian and I enjoyed this though.  The chicken was moist and juicy...just the was I like it!  This was very easy to prepare, so I will definitely make this again!

 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces (or leave in tender size pieces!)
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
12 ounces small new potatoes, scrubbed and halved (I used russet and cut into big chunks)
2 cups baby carrots, cut into thirds (I left mine whole)
2 celery stalks, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (I omitted)
1 large onion, chopped (I cut into 2 pieces)
1 can (4 ounces) sliced mushrooms, drained (I omitted)
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried sage (I used dried rosemary)
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened (I omitted)

In a medium-size bowl, stir together chicken, 2 tablespoons of the flour, 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and the pepper; add to slow cooker. Stir in potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, mushrooms, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of the thyme, the sage and broth. (I put the carrots and half of the potatoes on the bottom, topped that with the chicken, and then added the rest of the potatoes). 
Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 hours or on LOW for 6 hours. (My chicken was still partially frozen and cooked on low for 9 hours) 


(I completely omitted this step.  I did however pour some of the chicken broth over the chicken and potatoes to keep them moist.) In a small bowl, stir together remaining 1 tablespoon flour and the butter until a paste forms. Push the chicken and veggies to one side and whisk paste, remaining 1/4 teaspoon each salt and thyme into slow cooker bowl. Cook 1 more hour or until thickened.

#206: Taco Pinwheel

This dinner was supposed to be on my menu for January, but it kept getting bumped around.  It's about time we made and ate this one!  The original recipe suggests making this into a fancy, pretty pinwheel....yeah, that's too much work!  I rolled out about 2/3 of the dough and pressed it on the bottom and up the sides of an 8x8 pan.  Then I filled it with the taco meat filling, added some shredded cheese, and then topped with the remaining dough rolled out into a rectangle and just fitted on top.  MUCH easier!

Brian and I enjoyed this one, but the girls weren't such big fans.  Next time, I would probably make half of the amount of dough and just put half of it on the bottom of the pan (not up the sides) and then the remaining amount on top.  As is, this is quite filling.  You don't need to have much in the way of side dishes with this one!  The picture above, is how it looks out of the oven (also how Brian and the girls ate it).  Mine however was topped with picante sauce, sour cream, green onion, and mixture of cabbage/cilantro/lime juice.

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 onion, diced
1 T. chili powder
2 t. cumin
2 t. salt
1 t. garlic powder
1/4 c. water
1 14.5 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 4oz. can diced green chili peppers (I used about half)
2 c. flour
1/2 c. corn meal (plus extra for dusting)
1 T. baking powder
1 t. salt
6 T. butter or margarine
1/3 c. milk (I needed almost 1 c to get mine moist enough)
1 c. shredded cheese
Standard taco toppings, optional

Cook the ground beef and onions in a large skillet until beef is fully cooked. Drain.  Stir in the seasonings, water, tomatoes and chili peppers.  Bring to a slow boil and simmer until thickened.  This is where I froze mine until we were ready to make this meal.

Combine the flour, corn meal, baking powder and salt.  Cut in the butter or margarine until crumbly.  Stir in the milk just until dough is moist. Knead about 8-10 times.  Sprinkle your work surface with cornmeal and roll dough into a large circle (or rectangle like I did).  Place in an 8x8 pan and work the dough up the sides.  Spoon the taco filling into the center of the dough. Top with a cup of shredded cheese.  Then top with remaining cornmeal/flour dough.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, until corn biscuit crust is lightly browned.

#205: Oven Baked Fries

This house loves french fries!  We especially love baked french fries because they are easy, healthier then frozen ones, and inexpensive!  So when I came across this recipe, I book marked it.  I made it tonight to go with our Cornflake Chicken (Allison's requested meal this month...she must have really enjoyed it since it was 164 recipes ago!)

Anyhow, this took quite a while in the oven, but it was well worth the wait.  It definitely could have used more parsley and cheese than I used, but it was still good!

4 large russet potatoes, washed and scrubbed

1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil (I used about 1/8 c)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 c. grated fresh Parmesan cheese (I used about 1/8 c)
Finely chopped fresh parsley (I used a few sprinkles of dried parsley...I knew if there was too much my family would protest the "green" stuff)


Preheat oven to 400. Cut potatoes into 1/2 inch slices lengthwise, then cut again into 1/2 inch thick fries.

Place in a pot and cover with water. Add 1 T. salt, bring to a boil and simmer until a paring knife goes in easily--cooked about 3/4 of the way. Drain potatoes and place in a bowl.  (Too many steps...I omitted this entire process!)
Add olive oil, 1 T. salt and 1/2 t. freshly ground pepper and the parsley.  Toss well, being careful not to break the fries.  Place in a single layer on a non-stick baking sheet.  Bake until light brown.  (Mine cooked for a good 45 minutes or so).  Remove from oven and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake until browned and crispy and cheese is melted about another 6-7 minutes. Cool for about 2 min. before serving.

#204: Crockpot Minestrone Soup

Look at that big bowl of healthiness!

I'm pretty sure I found this recipe in one of my taste of home magazines, but it's been ripped out and filed away for quite a while, so I'm not 100% sure!  I'm finding that unless a soup is some form of chicken tortilla, I'm not in love with it.  This recipe is good (and healthy) don't get me wrong, but it's not my favorite.  I will however, be eating it most days for lunch this week, so maybe it will grow on me!

4 medium tomatoes chopped (I used a can of petite diced)
2 medium carrots, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped (I used 1)1 medium zucchini, halved and sliced (I used a half of one)
1 1/2 c shredded cabbage (I used about 1/2 c)
16 oz kidney beans, rinsed and drained
15 oz chickpeas, rinsed and drained
6 cups chicken broth
1 1/4 tsp Italian Seasoning
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 c cooked elbow macaroni (I used small shells--and added about 1/4 c to each bowl)
5 tbsp shredded parmesan cheese (I omitted)

In a slow cooker, combine the first 12 ingredients.  Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until vegetables are tender.  Just before serving, stir in noodles and heat through.  Serve with Parmesan Cheese (if desired).

The soup (with out noodles or cheese) is 3 ww+ points for six large servings.  If you add 1/4 c cooked elbow noodles to your bowl, it becomes 5 points per serving.

#203: Chocolate Banana Muffins

I found this "healthy" recipe on FaveDiets.com...but I decided to make mine a little less healthy.  : )  I have tried multiple times to cook with whole wheat flour and it really changes the texture and taste, so I often will combine all-purpose with whole wheat flour...and that's what I did with this recipe.  The original recipe also called for a sugar substitute.  I substituted alright!  Don't get me wrong, I am a lover of Splenda.  I put 10 packs in my large coffee, and in fact, I have 2 large boxes in my pantry right now.  However, Splenda is expensive!!  I'm not going to waste that in muffins!  I also didn't notice that I was totally out of white sugar, so I had to substitute brown sugar in place too.  : ) Anyhow, these came out great!  The girls really enjoyed them and will be sharing with their friends at school on Monday.

1 3/4 cups white whole wheat flour (I used 1 c all-purpose and 3/4 c whole wheat)
1/2 cup sugar substitute suitable for baking (I used brown sugar)
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate or carob chips (carob chips...yeah right!  I used semi-sweet)
2 egg whites
1/4 cup light cooking oil
1/4 cup skim milk (I forgot to add this!! I guess it didn't need it)
1 cup bananas, mashed (3 medium) (I used 2 1/2)

1.Measure first five ingredients into large bowl. Mix thoroughly and make a well in center.
2.Beat egg whites until frothy. Mix in oil, milk and banana.
3.Pour egg white mixture into well. Stir only to moisten. Batter will be lumpy.
Okay, let's be honest here...I did NOT make a well in the center, forgot the milk, and mixed until it was totally all combined--not just until moistened.  And the only reason my batter was lumpy was because of the chocolate chips.  I suppose if you followed all of the above directions this could possibly turn out even better than it did!)
4.Fill greased muffin tins 3/4 full. Bake in 400 degree F oven for 20 to 25 minutes.  (I made mini-muffins and baked for about 12 minutes)

#202: Creamy Baked Ziti (or spaghetti!)

Note to self: When creating your monthly menu, check to see when Lent starts.  This makes a big difference on what you can eat and when! 

Last year, I made a fabulous chicken dinner during lent, which I could not eat.  Tonight I made a very yummy creamy pasta dish, which I also could not eat.  : )  I know it was yummy, because as I put it together last night I tried it! 

Obviously, as you can tell from the recipe title, this was supposed to be made with ziti noodles.  I didn't have any on hand and my only choices were spaghetti or elbow noodles, so I went with spaghetti!  Basically this was like a baked spaghetti, but it sure was good!!  Brian and the girls enjoyed it too!!  Yeah, another successful dinner at our house!  I had some leftover cooked ground turkey, so I added it to the sauce...had I not, I would have been able to eat this tonight!  Oh well. 

4 cups ziti pasta, uncooked (or about 3/4 lb spaghetti)
1 jar spaghetti sauce (26 oz)
14.5 oz diced tomatoes, undrained (I used about 1/4 c petite diced)
6 oz cream cheese, cubed (I used about 3 oz)
1/2 lb cooked ground turkey
3/4 c sour cream (I forgot to add!)
8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese (Brian didn't like the kind I bought, so we omitted--apparently "imitation" mozzarella is not up to his standards.  In my defense, I didn't realize it wasn't "real")
1/3 c grated Parmesan (I was irritated about the mozzarella so I figured I'd omit this one too!)
Heat oven to 375.  Cook pasta in large saucepan as directed on package, omitting salt. Remove from pan; drain.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, add marinara sauce, tomatoes and cream cheese; cook on medium heat 5 min. or until cream cheese is melted and mixture is well blended, stirring frequently. Add cooked ground beef/turkey and heat through.  (I let cool, and then froze this meat/sauce mixture.  When we were ready to use it, I let it defrost in the fridge overnight.  Then I boiled the noodles we were using, mixed it all together and threw it in an 8x8 pan.)

Mix well with cooked pasta.   Layer half the pasta mixture in 13x9-inch baking dish; cover with layers of sour cream, 1 cup mozzarella and remaining pasta mixture. Top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan. (yep, totally skipped everything after "mix well with cooked pasta!")  Bake 20 min. or until heated through.

#201: Chicken Fajitas

This recipe was too simple to taste as good as it did.  This required MINIMAL ingredients and was well received by all four of us!!  Allison probably ate almost as much as her daddy did!  (Not really, but she did eat a lot!)  I didn't think I would enjoy this chicken (I'm a super picky chicken eater), so I made myself a veggie burger to eat in my fajita shell instead, but next time I will definitely skip the burger and go with the chicken.  (Which is also why you get a picture w/meat and shell...that's all Brian eats!  I personally would have beans, cheese, lettuce, salsa, sour cream, and cilantro in my fajita!).  Anyhow, this would be a great way to use up left over pieces of chicken.  You know the little pieces you have to cut off as you cut around the fatty line in the chicken breasts?  Oh, no one else cuts that off??  Am I the only one who is very precise about my chicken? 

This is definitely, definitely going to return to our dinner menu very soon!

green bell pepper, sliced thin
yellow onion, sliced thin
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 chicken breasts, diced
1 packet Grillmates mesquite seasoning (I got a jar of it and just gave a few shakes)
small flour or corn tortillas
lettuce, tomato, sour cream, cheese, salsa, cilantro, etc.


Saute as much green pepper and onion as you like in a little oil. Add garlic cloves. Set aside.

Cook diced chicken in a sautee pan and when it's almost done, add the Grillmates Seasoning. Cook until chicken is done and then add the onion/pepper mixture. Serve on tortillas with the toppings you likedesire.

200 Recipes!!

I can't believe I've actually made and tried 200 new recipes in eight months.  I don't know if my family likes this or not because we are not eating many old (or favorite) meals anymore!  : ) 

I don't know if I should actually give myself a new goal or just continue to eat/try new things?  So, I'm open to suggestions....what should my new goal be?  300?  Should I focus on a particular food group (ie. main dishes, healthy meals, kid friendly, etc?)