Meal List

Italian Chicken Crockpot
Chicken Party Rolls
Chicken and potatoes
Chicken BBQ pizza
Chicken party rolls
Taco Salad
Turkey Burgers
Simple Macaroni with beef and cheese
Zuppa Tuscana
Crockpot Chicken Enchilada Soup
Meat Loaf with boxed Potatoes
Sloppy Joes and Chips
Sub Sandwhiches

Meal List

Chicken Noodle Casserole
Taco Pasta
Pizza Casserole
Slow Cooker Cheesy Chicken
Meatballs and Rice
BLT’s
Country Fried Steak Skillets
Turkey Steaks and Potatoes

 

School Lunch Peanut Butter Bars

(This was one of the first recipes I ever posted, but I didn't post any pictures, so I decided to do a re-do!)

So, I know that most people haven't been completely obsessed with food their entire lives like I have been...but do you remember eating peanut butter bars in elementary school? I totally do. They served them as dessert with school lunches. I remember thinking that one bar was just not enough, and searching for ways to get more.

Well, then when I grew up, I worked with this nice woman who was a former lunch lady. She took the cafeteria's peanut butter bar recipe, and scaled it down, and came up with this gem. They are the best peanut butter bars I have ever tasted. Ever.

This recipe makes an entire cookie sheet full, and I can only make them if I have a place to take them and share. I could pretty easily down the whole pan by myself without really trying. They're kinda dangerous...at least in my chocolate/peanut butter loving world.

School Lunch Peanut Butter Bars

1 1/2 C Flour

1¼ tsp. Salt

½ tsp. Baking Soda

¾ C Butter

¾ C Sugar

¾ C Brown Sugar

1 ½ tsp. Vanilla

1 1/2 C Creamy Peanut Butter (split)

2 Eggs

1 ½ C Quick Oats

Frosting:

½ C Butter (1 stick)

3 ½ C Powdered Sugar

2 T Cocoa

¼ C Milk (I use whatever I have in the fridge)

1 tsp. Vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small mixing bowl, mix together flour, baking soda and salt. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugars, 3/4 C peanut butter, eggs and vanilla until light and fluffy. Gradually add dry ingredients, just until incorporated. Then, stir in the oats. Spread onto a greased 11 x 15 Jelly Roll Pan (cookie sheet). Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes.

The frosting is a two step process. First, whip the remaning ¾ C Creamy Peanut Butter until it becomes lighter colored and fluffy. Carefully spread the whipped peanut butter over the pan cookie.

Then, add butter to a small sauce pan and melt the butter. Add the milk and cocoa. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. Heat just until boiling. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Then, gradually add the powdered sugar. Stir until thickened. Pour over the peanut butter and gently spread over the cookie. Cool completely, and slice into bar cookies.

Chelsie's Sugar Cookies

Do you want to make the best sugar cookies in the world? Look no further! I have a recipe for sugar cookies that will blow your socks off.

...that is, if you are into sugar cookies that are unbelievably soft and thick and

melt in your mouth.

Seriously...these are amazing.

{The trick is to roll them out thick and bake them for less time than you think they need.}

You'll need:

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

3 tsp. vanilla

1 cup sour cream

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking soda

5 1/2 cups flour

In mixer, cream butter and sugar, and then add eggs and vanilla. Add sour cream. Combine salt, soda, and flour, and add to mixture.

Roll out on floured surface to about 1/4 to 1/3 inch thick. Really.

It saves time to have cute little six-year-old hands helping you pick up the scraps.

Use a spatula to carefully slide under each cookie and place onto greased (with Pam) parchment-lined cookie sheets. Bake at 375 for 7-8 minutes.

THEY WILL NOT LOOK DONE!

But don't give in to your temptation to cook "just a little bit longer" or you will get crunchy cookies instead of soft, pillow-like cookies.

This is what mine look like when I take them out of the oven:

They are still very pale and have no browning anywhere. If you have a golden brown color along the edges then you have baked them too long.

Wait about 5 minutes and then transfer carefully to a cooling rack. If you wait longer they will get soggy on the bottom and sometimes get stuck to the parchment paper.

Once they are cooled they are ready for frosting.

Note: I know that there are people who make amazingly beautiful iced sugar cookies.

I am not one of them.

I've seen some sugar cookies out there that are smooth, glossy, beautiful pieces of art. For those of you who have the talent and patience to make such beautiful masterpieces...I envy you on many levels.

But me?

I prefer cookies that taste good and I don't really care so much about what they look like. The one time I made royal icing I thought it ruined my sugar cookies. Just my two bits.

Here is the simple buttercream frosting I use:

1/2 cup butter, softened

4 cups powdered sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4-1/3 cup milk

In a mixing bowl, cream butter. Beat in sugar and vanilla until crumbly. Gradually add milk until frosting reaches desired consistency. Add desired food coloring.

And there you have it. Heaven on a plate. This recipe makes about 30 extra large cookies (like I have here) or up to 4 dozen smaller cookies.

Plate some up and take them to your neighbors to wish them Luck o' the Irish.

Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken with Fried Rice

        I have a DELICIOUS recipe for you all! I am so excited to share this one. I found this on Mels Kitchen Cafe about a year ago. My family and I LOVE this dish! It has such a great flavor. You could probably trick your family into thinking you picked up some yummy Chinese food at a gourmet restaurant... It is that good, I promise! One of the great things about it is that its baked :)  Your not deep frying it like the normal chinese dishes, so your getting tons of great flavor without all the fat and grease. I found the Fried Rice recipe on a website (dont remember which one) but added my own little twist to it. I made this last night for dinner and I think we all ate it up within 5 - 10 minutes! It's soooo good. I hope you give it a try soon :)

Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken

The chicken coating:

3-4 boneless chicken breasts

salt + pepper

1 cup cornstarch

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup canola oil

The sweet and sour sauce:

3/4 cup sugar

4 tbs ketchup

1/2 cup distilled white vinegar

1 tbs soy sauce

1 tsp garlic salt

       Start by preheating your oven to 325 degrees. Rinse your chicken breasts in water and then cut into cubes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Dip chicken into the cornstarch to coat then dip into the eggs.  Heat your 1/4 cup oil in a large skillet and cook your chicken until browned but not cooked through. Place the chicken in a 9x13 greased baking dish. Mix all of your sweet and sour sauce ingredients in a bowl with a whisk and then pour evenly over the chicken. Bake for one hour and during the baking process you will need to turn the chicken every 15 minutes.  

                                 Below is the greatness you will get when it's all cooked:

YUM!

Fried Rice                                                                                             

3 cups cooked white rice (day old or leftover rice works best!)

3 tbs sesame oil

1 cup frozen peas and carrots (thawed)

1 small onion, chopped

2 tsp minced garlic

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1/4 cup soy sauce

      On medium high heat, heat the oil in a large skillet or wok.  Add the peas/carrots mix, onion and garlic. Stir fry until tender. Lower the heat to medium low and push the mixture off to one side, then pour your eggs on the other side of skillet and stir fry until scrambled. Now add the rice and soy sauce and blend all together well. Stir fry until thoroughly heated!   **You could really play around with this rice too! Try adding some diced ham, or green onion :) Yum!  

     

SCRUMDIDLIUMPTIOUS!

Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup

 

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 medium onions, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 quart chicken stock

1 tablespoon chicken soup base

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons chili powder

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, to taste

1 (8 oz). can tomato sauce

1 (19 oz.) can enchilada sauce (or two 10 oz. cans)

6 small corn tortillas*, minced

16 oz. Velveeta, cubed

1 cup co-jack cheese, shredded

1 22 oz. bag Tyson roasted and diced chicken, thawed

1 can whole kernel corn**, drained (optional)

Garnishes: pico de gallo, sour cream, shredded cheese, crunchy tortilla strips

In a skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat, and saute' the onions until they are tender. Add the minced garlic and cook another minute or two, then scrape the onions and garlic into your crock pot. Add all the other ingredients, except the chicken and corn. Cook over high heat for two hours or low for four. Whisk until smooth (you may wish to use a stick blender). Add the chicken pieces and corn and heat through, maybe another 30 minutes to one hour. Check seasonings, and garnish as you like before serving.

*Most of the recipes that I found online called for one or two cups of masa harina to thicken the soup. The store I was shopping in didn't carry that, so I got the brilliant idea to just chop up some corn tortillas and let them dissolve in the soup. it worked perfectly, and gave the soup great flavor...just like chicken enchiladas!

zuppa toscana

Yield: about 8-10 servings

INGREDIENTS

1 lb. Italian sausage (or half regular, half turkey sausage)
1 large onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup white wine to deglaze the pan
½ tsp. red pepper flakes
2 russett potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch chunks
2 cups fresh kale, chopped
3 cups chicken broth
2.5 cups water
1 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS

• Place a large stockpot or Dutch oven on the stove over medium heat.  Crumble the sausage into the pan and cook until well browned.  Remove the cooked sausage from the pot with a slotted spoon and transfer to a bowl; set aside.  Add the chopped onion to the pan and sauté until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
• Add the garlic and red pepper flakes to the pan and cook for a minute more, just until fragrant.  Add the wine to the pot and stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen any browned bits.  Add the potatoes, kale, chicken broth and water to the pot.   Return the sausage to the pot.  Increase the heat to medium-high, bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer on medium-low.  Cover and let simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork-tender and cooked through.
• Stir in the heavy cream and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serve immediately.