Spinach Manicotti

I made this for dinner tonight and liked it a lot!  It's from this website

I do think it cooked too long, and I followed the recipe...so next time I'll try cutting 10 minutes out of that first 45...

Enjoy!

One jar of pasta sauce

1 box of manicotti

Mix together:

1 small onion diced

8 oz. cottage cheese

10 oz. frozen spinach (or 1 1/2 c. fresh chopped)

2 eggs

shredded mozzarella cheese (as much as you want…I usually do around 1-1 1/2 cups)

Fill the manicotti shells with your mixture and place them in a 9x13 pan with a thin layer of spaghetti sauce spread on the bottom.  This is kind of a messy job, but someone’s got to do it.  (Place them kind of far apart because they grow when they cook.)

Then spoon some spaghetti sauce on top.

Then sprinkle some fresh mozzarella cheese on that.

Add a few tablespoons of water in the bottom of the pan to give it a little moisture, cover with tinfoil and bake for 45 minutes at 375 degrees.

Uncover and cook for 15 more minutes.

Chicken and Rice Soup (Freezer Friendly)

One of the reasons I love cooking is that it is creative and flexible.  This recipe varies a little in taste each time I make it but it is consistently delicious. I will throw in any vegetable I feel like or need to use up.  Also the taste varies if I use some homemade stock in addition to bullion or all bullion or how much of each spice I use.  So don't worry... feel free to make any substitutions or halve the recipe on a night when you want a super quick dinner. I love to use cauliflower because it becomes a hidden vegetable that my husband and child can't detect, but provides extra fiber and vitamins.

Chicken and Rice Soup :Makes 2-3 Quarts- Freeze leftovers

Ingredients:
 3-5 Carrots
1 Head of Cauliflower
1 Medium to Large Onion
 Diced Garlic
1 Quart Homemade Stock
1-2 Quarts Water and Better than Bullion or Chicken Bullion
 Cooked Brown Rice (4-6 cups cooked)
1 or 2 cans cooked Chicken Breast
Seasonings (Listed Below)

I steam my brown rice in my rice cooker and then get my broth boiling and dice up my carrots, onions, garlic, and cauliflower (cauliflower is crumbly so i let it be diced small like rice).  I throw those into the broth and let them cook and soften.  I then put in my seasonings : I just eye ball it but I use: Rosemary, Thyme, Celery Seed, Marjoram, Pepper, Oregano, Parsley, and a dash of cloves. I let that meld together for 10-15 minutes and then dump in the whole can of chicken, liquid included, I stir it around and break up the chicken chunks into bite size pieces let it boil a few minutes longer, check my seasonings and when everything seems cooked about right I stir in my cooked brown rice very last, and check if it needs more salt or pepper.

Smothered Sweet Pork Burritos

2 ½- 3 lbs  pork (any cut will work)

1 pkg (10 count) flour tortillas

2 cans (15 oz) mild green enchilada sauce, divided

½ c. brown sugar

1 - 15 oz. Can black beans, rinsed well

1 bunch cilantro, chopped (optional)

1/3 lb. Montery jack cheese (or cheddar), grated

Garnishes: chopped tomatoes, lettuce, sour cream, guacamole

                  salsa, cilantro dressing below

Cut pork into large cubes and place in crock pot with ½ c. water.  Season with salt, pepper & garlic powder.  Cook on high 4 hours or low 8 hours, until well done.  Remove meat and drain.  Shred meat using two forks and place in bowl.  Stir in ½ c. green enchilada sauce and brown sugar.  Heat oven to 350°.  Spray 9x13 dish with Pam.  Warm tortillas. Pour ½ c. green chili sauce on bottom of the dish.  Place 1/4-1/3 c. meat mixture in middle of tortilla, add 1-2 Tbsp. Black beans and 1-2 tsp. chopped cilantro.  Roll and place seam side down in dish.  Repeat with remaining tortillas.  Pour 1 ½ - 2 c. green enchilada sauce over burritos and sprinkle with cheese.  Cover with foil and bake 25-30 min. or until cheese is melted and burritos are heated through.  (Serves 6-8)

Cilantro Ranch Dressing (Café Rios)

1 pkg. dry Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing mix

2 tomatillos, quartered

1 clove garlic

½ bunch cilantro, including stems

1 jalapeno, seeded

juice of one lime

Make Ranch dressing according to package direction except only use half of the milk called for.  Put everything in a blender and mix well.  Chill.

Crockpot Chicken Tacos

2-3 chicken breasts

1 can chicken broth

1 pkg. taco seasoning

1 cup salsa

1 can corn, drained

1 can black beans, drained

1 cup sour cream

½ cup shredded cheese

Shredded Chicken

 Place first 6 ingredients in the crockpot for 3 to 4 hours on HIGH. Just before serving, shred Chicken, and mix in the sour cream and shredded cheese.  Top with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, salsa, avocados, and anything else that sounds good.

Cook’s Note:  It will be runny. I like to fry up scones and make Navajo tacos.  My husband eats it like soup so you could try that too:)

If you don't want it to be as soupy, you can leave out the chicken broth.  It is still runny but less so.

Chicken Pesto Stromboli

1 Rhodes Rolls frozen bread loaf

½ cup Pesto sauce

2 cups spinach

2 cups cooked shredded chicken

2 cups shredded Mozzarella

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

1 tsp garlic salt

1 egg, lightly beaten

 Thaw bread according to package directions.  On greased counter, roll out to a rectangle about the size of a cookie sheet.  Spread Pesto all over leaving a 1” space from edge.  Sprinkle ¼ cup Parmesan on top of Pesto.  Next sprinkle Mozzarella, spinach, and shredded chicken.  Now roll, jelly roll style, starting at the long end.  Roll it all the way so it makes a long tube.  Place on greased cookie sheet, making sure seam is on bottom.  Tuck ends under.  Brush with egg.  Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan and garlic salt.  Cut slits along the top to vent.  Let rise for 30 minutes.  Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown, 20-30 minutes.

Miso Salmon (Cheesecake Factory)

This is my husband's favorite meal.

• 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons hot water
• 2 tablespoons miso (I found this at an oriental store in Provo)
• 4 salmon fillets
• cooking spray

1. Preheat broiler.
2. Combine first 4 ingredients, stirring with a whisk. (I usually end up doubling the sauce.)
3. Arrange fish in a shallow baking dish coated with cooking spray.
4. Spoon miso mixture evenly over fish.
5. Broil 10 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork, basting twice with miso mixture.
6. Serve over white rice. Pour a little more sauce over the top.

Beef Pot Roast

I liked this recipe because I can do all the prep work during nap time and then leave it until we are ready to eat.  If you leave it in longer, it just gets more tender!

 

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

3 1/2 pounds beef chuck pot roast

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 cup diced carrots

1 cup diced celery

1 cup diced onion

1/4 cup butter

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
2. Pour vegetable oil into a large oven-safe pot over medium-high heat. Season the chuck roast with salt and black pepper. Brown the meat on both sides in the hot oil, and transfer to a plate.
3. Stir carrots, celery, and onion into the pot, and cook and stir until vegetables start to release their juices, about 3 minutes; loosen any brown flavor bits on the bottom of the pot. Add butter, and cook until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Then sprinkle in rosemary, stir the vegetables, and return the roast to the pot. Cover the pot with a lid.
4. Roast in the preheated oven until the chuck roast is tender, about 3 - 3.5 hours. Season vegetables with additional salt and black pepper, if desired.

Thai Peanut Noodles

I make this meal regularly because it is so easy and my kids like it (and they almost never eat what I make for dinner).  In fact, Sienna requested it tonight!  I got it from Our Best Bites.

1/2 c. chicken broth
3 Tbsp. creamy peanut butter
1-2 tsp. Sriracha chili sauce (1 is mild with a bite, 1.5 is medium, 2 is hot)
1 1/2 Tbsp. honey
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 1/2 Tbsp. fresh minced ginger
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
8 oz. Udon or linguine noodles
Chopped green onions
Chopped cilantro
2 limes, cut into quarters
Chopped peanuts

Cook noodles in salted water. In the meantime, combine chicken broth, peanut butter, chili sauce, honey, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk until smooth and remove from heat. Toss cooked noodles with sauce and divide among 4 bowls. Sprinkle with green onions, cilantro, chopped peanuts, and garnish each serving with 2 lime quarters. Before eating, squeeze lime juice over noodles and stir to combine.

*If desired, you can add meat to this dish by stir-frying shrimp or very thinly-sliced chicken (partially freeze it first) in some olive oil with a couple cloves of garlic, some fresh ginger, some green onions, soy sauce, and a small squirt or two of Sriracha chili sauce.

Chili Dutch Baby

Great easy recipe that all my kids love. You do need a cast iron skillet though.

Serves:	4-6
Prep Time:	10 Min
Cook Time:	25 Min

Ingredients

5	eggs
1/3 c	butter
1/2 c	cornmeal
3/4 c	flour
1 1/4 c	milk
1 can(s)	chili
1 c	cheddar or jack cheese
OPTIONAL
1 can(s)	stewed tomatoes
1 can(s)	corn, or veggie of choice

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 Degrees. 

Put butter in cast iron skillet and place in oven to melt.

In large bowl, beat eggs with milk.

Mix in cornmeal and flour.

Pour mixture into cast iron skillet.

Add optional ingredients, spoon in chili.

Top with cheese and bake for 25 min.

Smothered Coronado Burritos

Super easy crockpot meal. I like to serve rice along with it to soak up the sauce. Also, adding jalapenos to the crockpot gives it a nice kick as well.

Chile Colorado Burritos

 Ingredients:
1 1/2 to 2 pounds stew meat or other beef cubed (top sirloin is great)
1 large can mild (red) enchilada sauce (at least 19 oz.)
 2 beef bouillon cubes
1 can refried beans (I prefer refried black beans that I find in the Hispanic part of the grocery store)
5-7 burrito size flour tortillas
1 cup or so of shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Put beef pieces into crock pot. Top with crushed bouillon cubes and enchilada sauce. Cook on low for 7-8 hours, or until meat is very tender.
2. When beef is done (very tender and flakes off when stirred), taste and add more salt, if desired.
3. Make sure beans are warmed through. You can use canned refried beans or the recipe I provided you with.
4. Smear about 2 heaping spoons worth of beans on to the center of each tortilla. Add about 1/2 cup of beef, give or take, and roll into a burrito.
5. Place burritos into a greased 9x13 baking pan until it fills the pan. Pour some of extra sauce over the tops of the burritos to smother them. Place cheese on top.
6. Broil until cheese becomes bubbly, approx. 2-4 minutes.
7. This recipe makes about 5-7 burritos depending on how big you make them.

Rumbi's Mango Chicken Salad

I found this recipe on Jamiecooksitup originally but when I tried to find it just now, I couldn't.  Luckily, I printed it off way back when I made it.  It was really yummy!

Rumbi's Mango Chicken Salad

Yeild: 8 servings

Salad:
1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
3 tomatoes, diced
2 mangoes, or 2 cans mandarin oranges
1/2 cup feta cheese
1 T sesame seeds
1 bag tortilla chips
5 chicken breasts (cooked and seasoned with lemon pepper and salt)
Brown rice, cooked and kept warm

Dressing:
1/4 cup dijon mustard
2 T lime juice
1 t chili powder
3/4 cup mayo (She always uses Best Foods Light)
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup white vinegar
2 T minced garlic
2 T ginger powder

The World's Best Chicken

I made this chicken a few weeks ago, and was skeptical about it being "the world's best".  I don't think that it was the best chicken I've had, but it was flavorful and even my picky, food-indifferent husband told me that I should save the recipe and make it again...I've linked the title (below) back to the original blog that I got this recipe from and will continue to do that if I am borrowing someone else's recipe.

The World’s Best Chicken

Serves 4

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Salt & pepper
Rosemary

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a small bowl, mix together mustard, syrup, and vinegar.

Place chicken breasts into 9×13 greased baking dish. Season with salt & lots of pepper. Pour mustard mixture over chicken. Make sure each breast is coated. No need to marinate. I love that because I hate marinating/often forget to until it’s too late.

Bake for about 30-40 minutes, or until meat thermometer reads 165 degrees. Exactly how long you should leave it in is based on personal preference and your oven. I like my chicken borderline dried out, so I leave it in the full 40 minutes, and sometimes even bump the heat up to 450 degrees to really get the flavors baked on. (Line your pan with foil to keep clean up easy!)  There will be extra sauce in the pan, which you can elect to toss out or use for extra flavoring. You do not need to cover the pan with foil.

Season with chopped rosemary. And prepare for people to ask you to make it again!

PS: To make this in the slow cooker, combine all ingredients and cook on low for 3-4 hours.