EASY Creamy Pesto

For our first dinner date, my future hubby took me to the Pasta Factory. I remember exactly what I got.

Bowtie Pasta with Creamy Pesto.

Since then, I've always had a soft spot for Creamy Pesto!

Now I'm sure that the Pasta Factory puts a little more time into their pesto, but this is a quick 5 minute version!

 For about 2 people you need:

1/4 cup prepared Pesto sauce (I use the Knorr package)

1 cup Alfredo Sauce (I used Ragu Alfredo)

1/2 box cooked pasta (I used Linguine)

After preparing your pesto, or warming it if it's premade, add your alfredo and heat through. Serve over cooked pasta.

EASY Pineapple Chicken Stirfry

I love easy recipes, and this one is just that! It wasn't on our list for dinners this week, it was originally supposed to be 'stuffed green pepper casserole', but I wasn't in the heavy-casserole-dinner-mood, so I turned to the freezer/pantry to find a quick and simple alternative, and this did not disappoint!

Easy Pineapple Chicken Stir-fry

2 chicken breasts, diced into bite sized pieces

1 can of pineapple chunks

3 green bell peppers, cut into bite sized chunks (about 1/2 inch)

1/2 to 3/4 bottle Kikkoman Stir Fry sauce*

1/2tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp powdered ginger

1/4 tsp coarse black pepper

In a skillet, brown chicken with the garlic powder and ginger in a little cooking spray until no longer pink. Add green peppers and saute until peppers have softened. Add pineapple, black pepper and stir fry sauce (add however much sauce you like, we like ours saucy so I added about 3/4 of the bottle, and then drizzled more over the rice!) Heat on med-low until warmed through (about 10 min) and serve over rice.

*I had previously declared my love for kikkoman's teriyaki sauce, and I am now going to do the same for the stir-fry sauce! This stuff is awesome! It makes for a really quick and yummy meal!

Texas Black Bean Soup {Guest post by Tasha}

I am getting SO excited for fall.. Crock Pot meals are my favorite! Thought I would share ONE of my many favorite soups!!                                     

Texas Black Bean Soup

2 cans black beans rinsed and drained

1 can stewed tomatoes or mexican stewed tomatoes, cut up

1 can diced tomatoes or diced tomatoes with green chilies

1 can chicken broth

1 can Mexicorn, drained

2 cans diced green chilies

4 green onions, thinly sliced

2 to 3 tablespoons chili powder

 1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp dried minced garlic

Combine all ingredients in crock pot, cook for 4-5 hours, or until heated through. Top with Mozzarella Cheese, and home made rolls.

Cheers, 

Tasha Bracken

Lemon Chicken and Broccoli Bowl

This is really one of my favorite meals! It is so quick and simple and easy, but yummy and FILLING! And it uses leftovers! SCORE! I love leftover recipes!

Lemon Chicken and Broccoli Bowl

(Serves 2)

1 leftover grilled chicken breast

1/2 lb penne pasta (cooked)

1 cup frozen broccoli (thawed and cooked)

2-3 TBS olive oil

1/2 tsp lemon seasoning

1/8 tsp garlic powder

salt and pepper

Parmesan cheese

slice your chicken breast into bite sized pieces, cook your pasta and heat your broccoli. Toss everything in a bowl and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.This is a really good summer meal because it's not heavy, but it fills you up!

Salmon with Fresh Peach Salsa

Since peach season is upon us, and my sweet mothers tree is OVERLOADED with peaches, I took it upon myself to find something to do with this abundance of peachy-ness. And let me tell you... this was a HIT at our house!

Salmon:

2 Salmon fillets (mine were frozen from walmart)

2TBS soy sauce

3 TBS milk

2 tsp chili sauce

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp onion powder

Peach Salsa:

1 ripe peach

2 TBS finely dices green bell pepper

1/2 tsp lime juice

1/4 tsp honey

salt and pepper

Marinate your salmon in the soy sauce, milk, chili sauce, garlic powder and onion powder for about an hour, and then grill. While with salmon in marinating, mix all of the salsa ingredients in a bowl and allow to sit for at least 20-30 min. top cooked salmon with peach salsa and enjoy!

Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

I am ALWAYS trying to think of quick, easy meals to feed my hubby in the 1/2 hour he comes home for lunch! This is a perfect, fast lunch for when you don't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, but you still want a yummy meal!

Buffalo Chicken Sandwich

2 TBS Butter

1/2 cup Franks Hot Sauce

1/4 tsp garlic powder

2 Hamburger buns

12 pieces of popcorn chicken

sliced cheese

lettuce

miracle whip (or mayo-if thats how you roll)

In a small sauce pan, melt your butter. Once the butter is melted, add the hot sauce and garlic powder and simmer for a few minutes.In the meantime, cook you popcorn chicken, the easiest and fastest way I have found to do this is to microwave it until thawed, and then stick it in the oven under the broiler for 1-2 minutes until its crispy. Works like a charm! Anyways, once your chicken is cooked, drizzle the buffalo sauce over the chicken and toss until coated. Toast your bun (optional) and spread a little miracle whip on it. Add your cheese and lettuce, and finally your chicken. This would also be super good if you had leftover coleslaw to put on it!

This is definitely one of my husband's new favorite sandwiches! I have a feeling it will be making it onto our lunch menu often!

Meatloaf Muffins

2 pounds lean hamburger

8 oz. tomato sauce

2 eggs

1/2 c. milk

2 t. onion powder

2 t. garlic powder

1 t. oregano

1/2 t. red pepper flakes

1 T. Chili Powder

1 sleeve saltine crackers, crushed

1/4 c. Ketchup

2 T. yellow mustard

2 T. Brown sugar

Topping: Mix 1 cup ketchup, 1/4 cup mustard, and 1/4 cup brown sugar.

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Fill (sprayed) muffin tins 3/4 full and top with a spoon full of the topping. Bake at 350 for 30-45 min (or until insides are no longer pink) Allow to cool for at least 10 min. for the muffins to set a little more.

These can also be FROZEN! Just flash freeze them on a cookie sheet until hard, so they wont stick together! They to thaw, just pop in the microwave on defrost! I wrap mine in a damp paper towel for the first half so it doesnt get too dry!

Recipe Binder

When I was in High School, I started a recipe binder for when I got married. It started with a 1/2 inch binder, which slowly, but surely, evolved into a huge 3 inch binder, FILLED with every single recipe that I ever came across! Ones from magazines, from online, handwritten, typed, you name it, it was in there! It got old taking out that heavy binder and thumbing through hundreds of recipes I had never even tried just to get to the few that I made often. SO I downsized! I got a 1/2 inch binder, and filled it with only the BEST of the best recipes! The ones I use over and over, family favorites, only the greats! It has been so nice to be able to find a recipe quickly! You can see that the recipes are a little 'loved' to put it nicely, but the sheet protectors help a lot! TRY IT! You'll use your recipes a lot more if you don't have to search!

Notice this list on the back cover!

Chicken and Artichoke Alfredo

This recipe was SUPER easy! It took like 15 minutes to throw together (granted I had the chicken precooked in the freezer)

Chicken and Artichoke Alfredo

1/2 lb penne pasta

1 cup shredded chicken

1/4 cup chopped marinated artichokes

1 jar Alfredo Sauce

Cook pasta, and drain. In a sauce pan, combine alfredo sauce, chicken and artichokes, heat through and pour over pasta. Serve with garlic bread.



Kitchen Tips and Conversions {FREE Download!}

I can't be the only one out there that is CONSTANTLY checking online to see how many teaspoons are in a yeat packet, or trying to remember the rice to water measurments! Please tell me I am not alone here! So I finally decided (after seeing a little inpiration on Pinterest) to make a few cheat sheets!

\They Print on an 81/2x11 piece of paper, and come out to be about 5x7 each. I just printed them onto cardstock, laminated them, and taped them up inside my spice cabinet! They are so fun and helpful!

Go here to DOWNLOAD

BBQ Beef Pizza

This is honestly my new FAVORTIE pizza! It was so simple too!

BBQ Beef Pizza

1 1/2 cups shredded beef

3/4 cup BBQ sauce (I used Kraft Honey Mustard BBQ Sauce and that TOTALLY made the dish!)

1/4tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4tsp (or more) Franks Red Hot Sauce

Pizza Crust (I used the recipe here)

Shredded Cheese

Shredded purple cabbage (optional)

Bake your Pizza crust about 3/4 or the way, just before it starts to brown, I'd say it was about 8-10 min.

While the crust is cooking, mix the shredded beef (mine, again, was leftover roast) BBQ sauce, onion and garlic powder, and hot sauce. Pull your crust out of the oven, and spread the beef mixture over the top. Cover with as much cheese as your family likes, and put it back into the oven to resume baking. Bake for about another 10-15 min. or until the cheese is bubbly and the crust is browned. Pull the pizza out of the oven and top with the shredded cabbage.

This was REALLY good reheated the next day too! 

Green Chili Beef Street Tacos

1 cup shredded beef (you could also use chicken)
2tsp taco seasoning
1 can chopped green chiles
1TBS water
6 corn tortillas
lettuce
taco sauce
cheddar cheese

In a skillet, heat precooked (I used some roast I had in the freezer) beef, add water, taco seasoning and green chiles and heat through. Spoon onto steamed corn tortillas. Top with lettuce, cheese, and taco sauce.

Chicken and Veggie Egg Rolls

These were SOO yummy! I have a slight addiction to egg rolls... but who doesn't? I'm not a huge fan of the baked kind, I like 'em fried up and crispy! Here's mine...

Chicken and Veggie Egg Rolls
(makes about 10)
10 egg roll wrappers
2cups finely shredded purple cabbage
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup shredded chicken
1 TBS soy sauce
1 TBS teryaki sauce
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp powdered ginger

In a wok, or a large skillet, saute cabbage and carrots until slightly tender. Add chicken and all of the other ingredients and cook for 5-10 min until everything has cooked down together. Lay out your egg roll wrappers and fill them with a spoonfull of filling in a line down the center of the wrapper on a diagonal. roll the wrappers (while tucking in the ends) and seal the edge with a little water to make it stick. (the package for the egg rolls should have pictures to show you how to do this) Fry in about 1/4 inch of vegetable oil on all 4 sides until golden brown. Dip in soy sauce or teryaki.

Summer Squash Pasta

We have an abundance of squash right now, which we are loving, however there are only so many ways to cook it. This recipe is one of our FAVORITES! I've seriously made this at least once a week all summer!!
It's not heavy, its light and yummy and not over filling! PERFECT summer dinner!

Summer Squash Pasta
1/2 box thin spaghetti, cooked
1/2 cup chicken cooked and cubed (optional)
2 medium squash
3 TBS Extra Virgin olive oil
1 tsp garlic bread seasoning (mixture of garlic powder, parsley, etc. just use what ya' got!)
1/2 tsp siracha chili sauce
1 TBS lemon juice
1/2 tsp lemon pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder

In a pan, saute squash in the olive oil and garlic seasoning until the squash is soft. Add the cooked spaghetti and all the other ingredients. Combine well and serve!
You could also leave out the chicken and make this a vegetarian meal!

Sausage and Pepper Casserole

This casserole was SO fast and easy! oh and I failed to mention YUMM-Y! I already had the frozen rice, and the cooked sausage in the freezer, so it literally took 10 minutes to make!
Sausage and Pepper Casserole
4 cups cooked rice
1 cup cooked sausage crumbles
1/2 of a bell pepper, chopped
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 TBS soy sauce
1 TBS Worcestershire sauce
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
3 TBS sour cream

Mix everything in a bowl, and put it all into an 8x8 casserole dish. Bake at 400 until the top is browned (about 10 min)

Red Hot Chicken Po-Boy

This sandwich is SO simple... but it is SOO SOO yummy! THe sauce totally makes it, and you can add more/less hotsauce to adjust the heat level to your liking!

You need...

Cooked Popcorn Chicken (just the tyson kind, about 6-7 large peices)

1 crusty roll

shredded cabbage

lettuce

1tsp Franks Hot Sause

1TBS Miracle Whip

Mix the mayo and hot sauce in a small bowl and spread generously on the insides of the roll. Add chicken, cabbage and lettuce and DEVOUR!

Mini Egg Muffins

This is kind of a chop and toss recipe. I didn't really measure too close, so just use your best guess:)

4 Eggs

Mushrooms

Cooked crumbled sausage

chopped bell pepper

shredded chedder cheese

salt & pepper

add all ingredients into a bowl and pour into a greased (REALLY WELL) mini muffin pan (of course you can use a regular muffin pan, it will just take more time to cook) and bake at oh, I'd say 400 for about 8-10 min or until the eggs are set.

Freezer Chocolate Chip Cookies

I really love homemade cookies, but I don't love the cleanup that comes after... and I REALLY don't love eating the whole batch in 2 days because they are sitting there! So I decided to try freezing the cookie dough, and it works! It was so nice to have fresh baked cookies without all the mess! I got the recipe here (my changes are in red) and then right after I rolled the cookies, instead of baking them, I placed them on a baking sheet (making sure they weren't touching) and stuck them in the freezer for a few hours until they were frozen solid. Then I tossed them all in a gallon ziploc and threw them in the freezer! When I was ready to bake them here's what I did...

With the oven OFF, arrange how ever many cookies you want on the cookie sheet and place in the cold oven. Turn the oven onto 400 degrees and set the timer for 10 minutes. The cookies will thaw while the oven preheats, and then watch them after the 10 min. is up. Mine took about 12-14 min one time, and then the next time they took about 16 min. So just watch them for the last few minutes. Let them cool, and enjoy the yummy cookies and your CLEAN kitchen! :)

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

12 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled until warm (I use 6 tbs butter and 6 tbs vegetable shortening so that your cookies dont end up too flat)

1 cup brown sugar, packed

½ cup granulated sugar

1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk (I just used 2 eggs)

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (I didn't add that many)

Directions:

Adjust oven racks to upper and lower-middle positions.  Preheat oven 325°.  Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Whisk dry ingredients together in a medium bowl; set aside.  With electric mixer, or by hand, mix butter and sugars until thoroughly combined.  Beat in egg, yolk, and vanilla until combined.  Add dry ingredients and beat at low-speed just until combined.  Stir in chocolate chips.

Roll a scant half-cup of dough into a ball.  Holding dough ball in fingertips of both hands, pull apart into two equal halves.  Rotate halves 90 degrees and, with jagged surfaces facing up, place formed dough onto cookie sheet, leaving ample room between each ball.  Bake, reversing position of cookie sheets halfway through baking, until cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to harden yet centers are still soft and puffy (approximately 11-14 minutes).  Do not overbake.

Cool cookies on sheets until able to lift without breaking.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool. 

 

Crock Pot French Dips

My love for french dips didn't come about until after I was married. But now, its one of my favorite dinners! And it's SO easy and cheap! It takes a little time, but it's SO worth it! I usually turn this on before I go to bed on saturday night, and it's perfect when we get home from church.

You Need...
1 beef roast (around 2-3 lbs)
6 cups water
1 packet Au Jus mix
1 TBS garlic powder
3 tsp onion powder
2 Beef Bouillon cubes
Crusty rolls
Cheese
ANOTHER Au Jus packet
1 tsp garlic powder

Combine the top 6 ingredients in a slow cooker, and turn in on to LOW for about 12-13 hours AT LEAST! I promise you, the longer you cook this the better! I tried cooking roasts on high for 5-6 hours forever, and they were tough and dry and not good at all, but cook it on low overnight... and it turns into moist, juicy, yummy, beefy heaven! about an hour before I serve it, I shred the meat and put it back into the juice for the last hour. Make the Au Jus according to the directions and add the garlic powder. Pile meat onto the rolls, add cheese and dip away! We add mustard to ours, but you can get creative and add whatever!

Taco Pizza. {yum}

taco pizza.
-dough, homemade OR you know those french breads they sell at the grocery store, well...if you ask for the dough they make them with they will give it to you, for a buck fifty. yummy dough.
-black beans crushed up with some taco seasoning, making the base {'sauce'}
-we put cooked ground turkey, or keep it vegetarian with just the beans. {or add whatever meat}
-tomatoes
-cheese
-lettuce
-fried tortillas for chips on top
-sour cream, like half a cup, mixed with cholula sauce for drizzles on top.
-cilantro
-onions
-any other desired veggies or yumminess.


--put the bean 'sauce' on, then the meat, and then cheese. Cook at 375, for about 15 minutes.
When it's out and a little bit cooled add the lettuce, tomatoes, veggies, etc..then put the chips on top
and drizzle the sour cream mixture on it.

This is super easy, cheap, and FAST. it was like a navajo taco, just times 10. :)


found at The Pioneer Woman.

LOVE HER STUFF!