Sticky Wings

HELLO!!!!!!!!!!!  I cannot believe it’s been several months since I last posted!  Things have been super busy around these parts, and then we left town for the summer.  I’m back and promise this blog will become active again!  I’ve missed it so much!

While we were on vacation, I got a new cookbook.  I tried my first recipe from it on Sunday night, and it was really tasty.  The cookbook is called Slow Cooker Revolution.  I got it from Costco for about $17.  It was really simple and was a big hit with the kids especially.  I served it as a main course, but it would be a perfect side dish.  It would even be great served at a party. 

Don’t shy away from the cayenne.  It really does need the balance of sweet and spicy.  And I promise, it’s NOT too spicy.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup packed brown sugar (light or dark will work equally well)
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons minced or grated fresh ginger
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 pounds whole chicken wings (they can be frozen or thawed)
salt and pepper
vegetable oil spray
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup tomato paste

Stir 1/4 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne into slow cooker.  Add chicken to slow cooker, then add some salt and pepper.  Give it a quick stir to coat the chicken in the sauce.  Cook on low for about 4 hours, or until chicken is tender.

Place the oven rack about 10 inches from the broiler.  Place a wire rack in an aluminum foil lined rimmed baking sheet, and coat with vegetable oil spray.  Transfer the chicken to the wire rack, and discard the cooking liquid. 

Combine 1/4 cup sugar, water, tomato paste, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne in a bowl.  Brush chicken with half of sauce mixture and broil until lightly charred and crisp, 10-15 minutes.  Flip chicken over, brush with remaining sauce, and broil an additional 5-10 minutes, or until second side is lightly charred and crisp. 

Grab yourself a whole package of napkins (or better yet, a whole roll of paper towels!), and dig in!  Yummy, gooey, sticky goodness.

So how was your summer?! 
Cook anything delicious?

Read more...

Black Bean Burgers

A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I went out and started our Christmas shopping. We hit Barnes & Noble to get the kiddos some new books, and while we were there a couple of new cookbooks caught my eye. My husband made me save one for a Christmas present for myself, but I got to keep one out to use right away. ;-) They are both Betty Crocker cookbooks, and the one I kept out is called Betty Crocker Easy Vegetarian. I was super excited to see this because I'm always on the lookout for new meatless meal ideas to make my grocery budget stretch further.

This was the first recipe I tried from this new cookbook, and it was actually really tasty. My husband was very skeptical, but even he said that it was really good. My kids didn't even know the patties weren't ground beef until I told them. I expected my 8 year old to immediately stop eating at that point, but she kept on eating and said it was yummy!

I changed this recipe just a bit. I didn't think my kids would eat it unless I made it look exactly like a traditional burger. The recipe calls for topping the patties with, mayo, salsa, and lettuce. That's the way my husband ate it and said it was good. But for the kids and myself, I did mayo, lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese.

Another change I made was that I didn't use the green chiles. I was planning to but ended up using the last can I had for something else instead. So I just poured in a little green taco sauce instead.

One more thing. For the black beans, try and find a can with cumin and chili spices if you can. I couldn't, so I just added some cumin and chili powder when I opened the can.

Ingredients:
1 can black beans
1 can (4.5 ounces) green chiles
1 cup unseasoned bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
5 burger buns, split and toasted
mayo
lettuce
salsa

In a food processor or blender, process beans until slightly mashed. Remove from food processor and place in a medium bowl. Stir in chiles, bread crumbs, and egg. Shape mixture into 5 patties, about 1/2 inch thick. Coat each patty with cornmeal. In a 10 inch skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add patties, and cook 10-15 minutes, turning once, until crisp and thoroughly cooked on both sides.

Then assemble burgers with remaining ingredients.

Have you ever had a veggie burger?
What did you think?

Read more...

Chicken Enchilada Pasta

I stumbled across this gem of a recipe several months ago (my picture file says June) on a website called My Kitchen Cafe. I was frantically searching through my files trying to find a recipe to post. I stumbled across this one and can't believe I've neglected it before now! It's so super good. I was skeptical when I first read it because I thought, "Enchiladas and pasta? Together? Really?" But the combination is a perfect marriage of texture and flavor. It's just perfection.

This dish has the potential to be super spicy, depending on what kind of enchilada sauce you use. I use mild because I'm a wimp.....er, I mean, because my kids don't love spicy food. I made it once using medium enchilada sauce, and even that was a bit much for us. So if you're not big into spicy, make sure you use mild.

Ingredients:
2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed or shredded
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 medium onion, diced
1 red pepper, diced
4-ounce can diced green chilies
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
2 (10-oz) cans green chili enchilada sauce
2/3 cup red enchilada sauce
1 can large black olives, cut in half
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese
16-20 oz. penne pasta

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and cook the pasta until tender. While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet and cook the onion for 2-3 minutes, or until translucent. Add the garlic and red pepper and cook for another 2 minutes, until pepper is barely tender. Add the cooked chicken, green chilies, spices, enchilada sauces and olives. Let the sauce simmer for about 8-10 minutes. Add the sour cream and cheese and heat through, until the cheese is melted. Be careful not to boil the sauce, otherwise your dairy will curdle. Pour the sauce over the hot pasta. Garnish with extra sour cream, cheese, diced tomatoes, green onions, crushed tortilla chips, diced avocado, shredded lettuce, etc.

Have you ever tried something that originally sounded weird, but you ended up loving it?

Read more...

Baked Spaghetti

This is another recipe I found on Full Bellies, Happy Kids. And oh. my. goodness. It was GOOD! Super good. I might need to get the cookbook she keeps referencing!

This is definitely not healthy food. But man alive, it is delish! It's totally worth the 5 hour workout you'll need after consumption to burn all those calories! ;-)

Ingredients:
6 slices bacon
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped bell pepper
3 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes with liquid
1 2.25-ounce can sliced ripe black olives, drained
1–2 tablespoons dried oregano, according to taste
1 pound ground beef, browned and drained
12 ounces thin spaghetti, cooked and drained
2 cups grated cheddar cheese (5 ounces)
1 10-ounce can cream of mushroom soup
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350*. Grease a 9x13 baking dish.

In a large skillet, cook the bacon until slightly crisp, then chop into smaller pieces. Remove bacon from pan, then saute onion, garlic, and bell pepper in the bacon drippings until tender. Add the tomatoes, olives, oregano, bacon, and cooked ground beef. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.

Place half of prepared spaghetti in the prepared baking dish. Top spaghetti with half of the meat mixture, then sprinkle with 1 cup of cheese. Repeat layers.

Mix the canned soup and water until smooth, then pour evenly over the top of the spaghetti. Sprinkle the top with Parmesan.

Bake uncovered for 30 minutes, or until heated through.

Try not to eat it all in one sitting!

What's your favorite pasta recipe?

Read more...

Turkey Chili

Once again, my trusty America's Test Kitchen cookbook has come to the rescue! Oh. my. word. This was SO good. SoooooOOOOOoooo good. Yum!! There's just nothing else I can say, really. It's perfection.

Serve with cornbread for a really easy, filling, tasty meal! This chili can be cooked ahead of time and refrigerated for up to 3 days. Or you can freeze it for up to a month. Reheat over low heat, adding additional water or broth as needed for the right consistency.

Ingredients:
2 onions, minced (just use 1 if you have a larger onion)
1 red bell pepper, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
2 teaspoons coriander
1/2 to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
salt
2 pounds ground turkey (I used 85/15, but use whatever you have)
2 15.5 ounce cans kidney beans, rinsed
1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes, UNdrained
1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

Toppings:
cilantro
lime juice
shredded cheddar cheese
avocado
fresh diced tomatoes
sliced green onion

Combine the onions, bell pepper, garlic, chili powder, cumin, coriander, red pepper flakes, oregano, cayenne, oil, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large pot or Dutch oven. Cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until the vegetables have softened, about 12 minutes.

Uncover and increase the heat to medium-high. Stir in the turkey, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink and just beginning to brown, about 4 minutes. Stir in the beans, diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, broth, and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer, and cook, uncovered, until the chili has begun to thicken, about 1 hour.

Ladle into bowls, and top with your choice of toppings. ENJOY!

Are you salivating yet?! You should be!

Read more...

Crockpot Nachos

Today I officially have a 3rd grader and a kindergartner! I'm not sure how I feel about that yet. For now, my house is far too quiet. I'm feeling even more thankful for my little 3 year old running around, otherwise I don't know how I'd deal! The plus side to school being back is that now I'll have lots more time to devote to the little bloggy!

This is another recipe I got from Sandra at Full Bellies, Happy Kids. My kids all love nachos, so when I saw this version adapted for the crock pot, I knew I had to give it a try. It got rave reviews from all the kids, and the adults liked it as well. I just love my crock pot!!

This would be something that would work awesome to serve at a party. I love using my crock pot to feed people at parties. It makes so much less work for me, and I can actually enjoy my guests and the party!

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef, cooked and drained
1 can refried beans
1 can red kidney beans, undrained
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1/2 cup water
salt and pepper to taste
garlic powder
tortilla chips
jar of Mexican salsa con queso
Topping of your choice (I used finely sour cream, tomatoes, olives, green onions, and lettuce)

Brown the ground beef, and drain the grease. Put into the crock pot, and add in the refried beans, kidney beans, tomato paste, taco seasoning, water, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Cook on high for 2-3 hours or low for 4-5 hours.

Warm up the queso. Then plate up your nachos! We put the meat/bean mixture on first, then the cheese, then the toppings.

It really can't get any easier than this meal!

Do you have kids back in school yet?

Read more...

Bagel Pizzas

Is summer going by crazy fast for anyone else? My hubby has summers off (he's a school psychologist), so we've been really busy almost every second. He goes back to work at the end of next week (BOO!), so things will start to settle down a bit after that. Come August, I'll have 2 of my 3 kids in school, so I'll have much more time for this little blog of mine!

So anyway, the other night we were late getting home from the pool and were starving. I had some bagels and pepperoni about ready to go bad and needed to use them up. Thus, this idea popped into my head. My kids scoffed at me ("Bagel pizzas? Are you sure, Mom?") at first, but then I reminded them that we always see those pre-made frozen ones at the store. They still were skeptical because we've never purchased the ones at the store before, but everyone loved these.

You could totally make them ahead of time and keep them in the freezer for quick meals. I plan on doing that and then popping them in the fridge to defrost to send with my kids to school that week. Pizza is so versatile (you can eat it hot or cold), so I think it'll be perfect for their lunches to change things up a bit.

Lastly, this is a perfect meal to let your kids prepare! My kids were fighting over who got to spread the sauce, and they loved spreading on the cheese and pepperoni. :)

Ingredients:
plain bagels
pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce
shredded mozzarella
pizza toppings

Break bagels in half, and lay them out on a foil-lined baking sheet. Top with a few spoonfuls of sauce, then cheese, then toppings. Sprinkle a little extra cheese on top before baking.

Bake at 375* for about 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and pepperoni starts to get crispy around the edges.

I served ours with some fresh, sliced cantaloupe and a salad. It was a really yummy summer supper!

What meals do you throw together in a pinch?

Read more...

Garlic and Ranch Turkey Burgers

I apologize for the extended absence! I was able to take a spur-of-the-moment trip to Idaho to visit my family for 10 days and had the BEST time! My hubby stayed home with our older kiddos, and I took off with our 3 year old. It's taken me the last 3 days to settle into being back home. Grocery shopping may have to wait until Friday, so things may not be back to normal around here until next week.

But for now, I was able to find an old recipe that I tried a while ago but forgot to post. I found it from a cooking blog called Mommy Meals, and she found it from Allrecipes. I didn't change a thing in this recipe. My hubby was really skeptical about the ground turkey. We've only ever tried ground turkey once before in a chili recipe, and it was TERRIBLE. But now I know it was the recipe's fault and not the turkey! These were really tasty!

Ingredients:
1 pound ground turkey
1 package ranch dressing mix
1 egg
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper

Preheat your grill on medium-high heat, and lightly oil the grate. Mix ingredients together and form into patties. Cook until well-done, about 5 minutes per side. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 165 degrees.

We topped ours with mayo, lettuce, tomato, bacon and avocado. Delish!

Are you a ground turkey fan?
What's your favorite ground turkey recipe?

Read more...

Crunchy Onion Barbecue Chicken

This is another recipe that I got from Full Bellies, Happy Kids. She said she got it from Taste of Home. I don't remember seeing it in any of the recent magazines, so I'm glad I saw it on her blog. It was really tasty! My kids devoured it, and it was super easy and quick. I always have all the ingredients on hand, so it's a perfect go-to meal. I served mine with buttermilk mashed potatoes. It would go great with anything you'd serve at a barbecue -- corn on the cob, potato salad, etc -- or serve it with green bean casserole to use up more of the French's french fried onions.

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
1 1/3 cups French's french fried onions, crushed
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Combine onions, cheese and pepper in a shallow dish or bowl. Put barbecue sauce into separate shallow dish or bowl. Coat both sides of chicken breast halves into barbecue sauce, then dip one side into onion mixture. Place chicken onion side up on a foil lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400* for about 25 minutes, or until cooked through.

Do you have any yummy recipes that use French's french fried onions (besides green bean casserole)?

Read more...

Spaghetti a la Philly

First off, I'm sorry about the lack of posting (again with the lack of posting!). It's finals for me right now, and it's just been a bit crazy. One week left! Woo!

A few weeks ago, I told you about the hot corn dip I found from Full Bellies, Happy Kids. Well, since then, I have tried many of her recipes and have really enjoyed them all! Today's is also from her site. She said she originally found it from Love My Philly. I have yet to check out that site, but I'm going to. We always have cream cheese on hand, and I'd love to come up with new ways to use it!

So this recipe was super simple and tasty. It's a perfect quick weeknight meal. It really intrigued my kids that their spaghetti had cream cheese in it. My kids love spaghetti anyway, but this made it even more kid-friendly. Admittedly, my husband was very skeptical ("Cream cheese in spaghetti? Are you sure about that?"), but he even said it was yummy after we were finished.

Ingredients:
3/4 pound spaghetti
1 pound ground beef
1 jar spaghetti sauce
4 ounces cream cheese, cubed
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Cook noodles according to package directions. While noodles cook, brown ground beef in a saute pan; drain. Add spaghetti sauce and cream cheese, and cook until cream cheese is melted.

Drain spaghetti, and toss with sauce. Serve topped with Parmesan.

Read more...

Rigatoni with Bacon and Asparagus

My husband randomly bought a bunch of asparagus a few days ago when he saw it on sale. I didn't have it on the menu for the week and wasn't sure what to do with it. Until I got my newest Healthy Cooking magazine, that is! This was yummy and came together in a flash.

Ingredients:
1 package (16 ounces) rigatoni or large tube pasta
1 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed and coarsely chopped
8 bacon strips
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2/3 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup mozzarella, shredded
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, saute asparagus in butter. Remove from pan. In the same pan, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. When bacon is done, put on paper towels to drain, then crumble. Saute garlic in the oil until fragrant. Stir in cream and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 3-4 minutes, or until slightly thickened. Stir in mozzarella. Drain pasta and add it to the sauce. Then add salt, asparagus and bacon. Sprinkle with Parmesan and parsley before serving.

Do you like asparagus?
Do your kids like asparagus?

Read more...

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Aaaaaaaaaaand we're back! :)

Wow, going back to school was a rude awakening for me! I thought, "Yeah, I can totally do it! No sweat! How hard can it be?" Um, hard. Really hard. Now I'm juggling 3 hats -- Mom, Wife and Student. But as hard as it is, it's still great to be doing something for me!

Anyway. This recipe we tried for the first time last night. I got it out of my Healthy Cooking magazine back in December of last year and finally remembered to try it. It was really tasty and SO easy. It's also a great meal to have on hand in the freezer. You can have it completely prepared and then just pop it in the oven on a busy day. Fabulous! You could also easily make this in the crock pot. And if you wanted, you could even turn this into a great appetizer for a party. Just omit the rice and serve the meatballs on toothpicks with extra sauce for dipping!

The only thing I changed was that I omitted the raisins. We didn't have any anyway, but I thought that sounded really gross to put in the meatballs. My husband says he thinks it would be really good, so we'll try it with raisins next time, I guess.

Ingredients:
1 15 ounce can tomato sauce
1 cup water, divided
1/2 cup raisins
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/4 cup egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 pound ground beef
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 cups hot cooked rice

In a saucepan, combine tomato sauce, 3/4 cup water, raisins, brown sugar and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the bread crumbs, seasonings, egg and milk. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into 1 1/2 inch meatballs. Put meatballs into sauce. Cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until meatballs are no longer pink. In a small bowl, combine flour and remaining water, then stir into meatball mixture, cooking for 2 minutes, or until slightly thickened. Serve with rice.

What's your favorite meal to have on hand in the freezer?

Read more...

Pork Chops with Blue Cheese Sauce

This came from my Healthy Cooking magazine. It is so simple, super fast and really tasty. Even if you're not much of a blue cheese fan, I think you'd still like this because the sauce is very mild. We love blue cheese, so I added a bit more than the recipe called for. My kids gobbled this up, and my husband said he wished I'd made more because he wanted a second helping.

My other favorite part of this meal was that it only used a small pot! The chops are cooked in the oven. I lined my baking sheet with foil, so all I had to wash was the pot I cooked the sauce in. Gotta love that!

Ingredients
4 bone-in pork loin chops
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 green onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
2/3 cup milk
3 tablespoons blue cheese, crumbled
1 tablespoon white wine or chicken broth

Sprinkle the pork chops on both sides with pepper. Broil 3-4 inches from the heat for 4-6 minutes each side, or until meat thermometer registers 160*. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, saute onion and garlic in butter until tender. Sprinkle with flour and cook for 1 minute. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Add cheese and wine (or broth). Stir until heated through. Pour sauce over chops and enjoy!

Are you ready to have your kids back in school yet? ;)

Not sure what to do with the extra blue cheese?
Blue Cheese Dressing
Walnut Blue Cheese Salad
Buffalo Chicken Salad

Read more...

Zuppa Toscana

This post will hopefully convince Arizona's weather to turn fall-y so I can enjoy incredible soups like this WITHOUT running the air conditioning!

Whenever I go to Olive Garden, I always have to get this soup. It's so insanely fantastically delicious. Several years ago, I had a wicked craving for this soup but couldn't go get my Olive Garden fix. I decided to look it up online. I wasn't expecting to find a recipe nearly as good, but I found one! I love it even more, because it costs way less to make and I get several meals of this soup instead of just a single bowl.

The only problem I had with this recipe was that the original said you can use spinach or kale. The very first time I made it, I used spinach. It. was. disgusting. The spinach got completely slimy in the soup and didn't hold up well at all for leftovers. So do NOT use spinach as a substitution. It's gotta be kale.

Now that I'm on blood thinner medication, I have to be super careful about eating foods high in Vitamin K. When the pharmacist tole me that kale has the highest Vitamin K out of any of the dark greens, my mind instantly started mourning the fact that I won't be able to eat this soup as much as I normally do in the winter. Well, as much as I used to eat it in the winter, before I moved to the gosh dang desert.

Ingredients:
1 pound hot style bulk sausage
1 1/4 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 large onion, diced
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
5 cans chicken broth
6 potatoes, cubed
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 bunch kale

Cook sausage and red pepper flakes. Drain excess fat and remove sausage from pan. Using the same pan, cook bacon. Remove bacon, leaving a few tablespoons of drippings in the pan. Cook onion and garlic in bacon drippings until tender. Add chicken broth and potatoes. Cook for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, then add cream and sausage. Simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in kale just before serving. Serve with rolls or breadsticks!

What's your favorite soup?

Read more...

Spaghetti Alla Carbonara

K, the more recipes I try from my new cookbook, the more I love it. It is so awesome! Seriously, go get a copy! Are you sick of me raving about it yet? Go get a copy and I'll stop! ;-)

A couple of days ago, I was so busy that my day flew by, and it was dinner time before I knew what was happening or had anything planned. I had the bare minimum in the fridge and pantry, so I scoured my cookbook to see what I could possibly make. I found this recipe and decided to give it a try. I saw a cooking show years ago (Rachael Ray, I think?) where the chef made this dish, but I've never tried it. It was so easy and really yummy! Perfect quick, weeknight supper!

A word about the cheese. Just buy a bag of the pre-shredded Parmesan blend, which has the Pecorino and Parmesan already. It'll save you a lot of time and money, rather than buying a block of each.

Ingredients:
3 large eggs
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 cup Pecorino Romano cheese
3 garlic cloves, minced
8 slices bacon, chopped
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup dry white wine or chicken stock
salt and pepper
1 pound spaghetti

Cook noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs, cheeses and garlic together. Set aside. Then cook the bacon and olive oil in a 12 inch skillet over medium heat until the bacon is crisp, about 8 minutes. Add the wine (or chicken stock).

Simmer until it is slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and cover.

Reserve 1/4 cup pasta water before draining the pasta. Toss the pasta with the bacon mixture and the cheese mixture. If needed, add additional pasta water to loosen the sauce before serving.

My kids inhaled this. My 4 year old literally had 4 helpings. Not kidding. Spaghetti and bacon? Yes, please!

What do you think of our new blinkie? Have you added one to your blog?
Let us know if you have!

Read more...

Huevos Rancheros

I've been on a mission to find meatless meals and came across this one in my trusty Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. I'd never even had Huevos Rancheros before, even at a restaurant, so I thought it would be perfect to try. It was super easy and really good.

You can make these for breakfast, lunch or dinner. We had them for dinner tonight, so I served them up with a side of refried beans and cheese.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
16 ounce can stewed tomatoes, chopped
2 tablespoons diced green chilies
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
5-7 corn tortillas
7 eggs
3/4 cup Monterey Jack or cheddar, shredded

In a large skillet, cook onion in olive oil. Stir in undrained tomatoes, diced green chilies, garlic powder and chili powder. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, brush tortillas with some olive oil and bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes, or until crisp. Once tomato mixture has thickened, crack one egg at a time into a measuring cup. Gently pour egg into tomato mixture, then repeat with remaining eggs.

Simmer gently, covered, for 3-5 minutes, or until the whites are completely set and yolks begin to thicken (but are not hard). To serve, place a tortilla on a plate, top with 1-2 eggs, some of the tomato mixture and then cheese.

We don't have a very comment-happy group lately!
Show us some love -- leave a comment!

Read more...

Barbecue Crispy Chicken Melts

Barbecue Crispy Chicken Melts

3 T butter or margarine

½ c Original Bisquick mix

¼ tsp pepper

¼ cup milk

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

¼ cup barbecue sauce

½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

1. Heat oven to 425. In 13x9 pan, heat butter in oven 2 to 3 minutes or until melted.

2. In shallow dish, stir Bisquick mix and pepper. Pour milk into small bowl. Coat chicken with Bisquick mixture, then dip in milk; coat again with Bisquick mixture. Place in pan.

3. Bake about 30 minutes or until juice of chicken is clear when center of thickest part is cut.

4. In small bowl, microwave barbecue sauce uncovered on high about 30 seconds or until warm. Spoon sauce evenly over chicken; top with cheese.**

** Instead of dirtying another bowl I just spooned sauce over the chicken and put the cheese on it and put it back in the oven for about 5 minutes until it was warm.

Enjoy!

Read more...

Apricot Pork

This meal is something I threw together as a way to condense the amount of things in my fridge and freezer (some pork chops and an almost-empty jar of jam). I've seen this combination of flavors all over the place, in magazines and restaurants, but I've never tried it before. I'm kind of paranoid about cooking pork, so I usually just cook it in the crock pot so I can shred it and be sure it's done. But I decided to give these a go in the oven instead. It seriously took me like no time at all to prep. I kept wondering if a meal that easy to prepare would really end up being tasty, but it was! No measurements. Just sprinkle, spread, bake and voila! Yummy-ness. The jam on top might seem too thick and weird at first. But as the chops cook, they release a lot of juices, which thin out the jam and form a really tasty sauce.

Ingredients:
4 bone-in pork chops, thawed
oregano, dried
garlic powder
salt
apricot jam

Let meat come to room temperature for a few minutes. Preheat oven to 325. Place chops in a 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle with oregano, garlic powder and salt. Flip over and season other side. Spread jam over the top (I think I used about 1/4 cup) and bake for 15 minutes. Flip chops over, baste with sauce, return to oven and bake another 15 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees. Drizzle sauce over the top before serving.

Anyone doing anything fun this weekend?

Read more...