Rigatoni Tuna Casserole!

A MUST have for dinner tonight...

Ingredients:
8 Oz. uncooked rigatoni pasta
2 oz. parmesan cheese
1/2 C sun-dried tomatoes pack in oil, drained
1/2 C parsley
1 Lemon
3T Olive Oil
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes
1 pouch (7 oz) chink light tuna

Prep:
Bring salted water to a boil, cook pasta according to pkg directions

Grate cheese and pat tomatoes dry. Slice tomatoes and cut lemon wedges; set aside.

Heat oil, press garlic and pepper flakes over med-high heat 1-2 min or until garlic is slightly brown, DO NOT BURN!  Immediately stir in tuna and tomatoes; cook 2-3 min. or until tomatoes are tender.  Stir in pasta, half of parsley and half of the cheese, stir gently.

Serve and add parsely and cheese on top- serve with lemon wedges!

Delic!

Grilled Chicken & Bacon Mac-n-Cheese

This is a delicious twist on the typical mac-n-cheese dish!

Ingredients:

6 Slices bacon, chopped

Salt/Pepper to taste

1 lb. pasta

2 pieces chicken breast

EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

1/2 t Paprika

4T butter

1 onion, chopped

2T flour

1/2 C Chicken stock

2C milk

2T Thyme

Fresh grated nutmeg (1)

1 1/2 C white cheddar cheese, grated

Parsley, for garnish

Prep:

Pre-heat oven to 375

cook bacon and chop

Boil water and salt

Cook pasta, drain and return to pot

Drizzle chicken with EVOO, coat with paprika, salt and pepper

Cook chicken 10 minute then cut into bite-size pieces

Melt butter in pan (I used the same pan as I cooked the chicken in- just rinsed it out first.) over medium heat, add onion and cook until golden brown/soft (@ 15-20 min) Sprinkle in the flour and stir for 1 min.  Whisk in stock then add milk.  Bring to a boil and cook, whisking, until sauce coats the back of a spoon.  Add thyme and season with salt/pepper and nutmeg.  Stir in the cheese until melted.

Add chicken, bacon and sauce to a casserole dish.

Broil until bubbling and browing on top and garnish with parsley!

ENJOY!!!

Summery Clubhouse Chicken Pizza-squares

Clubhouse Chicken Squares

Ingredients:
2 Pkgs (8oz each) crescent rolls
1pkg cream cheese, softened
2 T mayo
1 small garlic clove, pressed
1t Dill weed
1can  chunk white chicken, drained and flaked
cucumber, seeded, sliced and quartered
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese
8 pieces of bacon, crumbled

Prep:
 Preheat oven to 375
unroll pkg ofcrescent rolls and spread along pan.  Bake 12-15 min. or until golden brown. Remove from oven and cool completely!

Combine cream cheese, mayo, garlic and dill and mix all well.  Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over crust; top with chicken.

Add slicd cucumber, tomtoes and cheese over chicken then top with bacon.  Refig for 30 min, cut and enjoy! 

This makes a GREAT Summery dish!  It was in the upper 70's today and we made this for dinner along with the fruit/tortilla chips and it was SO good! :)



Having a cook-out?

Apple Bery Salsa with Baked Tortilla Chips

A DELICIOUS Spring dish...so fun! Would be great to share with a cookout party or to fix and take camping!

Apple Berry Salsa Ingredients:

2 Granny Smith Apples

1 pint Strawberries, diced

2 Kiwi, peeled and diced

1 Small Orange

2 T brown sugar

2 T apple Jelly

Prep:

Peel, core and slice apples.  Coarsely chop.  Dice strawberries and iwi and place fruit in a small bowl.

Zest Orange and measure 1t zest, then Juice orange to measure 2T.  Add orange zest, juice, brown sugar and jelly to fruit mixture, mx getnly and refig until ready to serve.

This is delicious with homeade cinnamon/sugar tortilla chips...

Ingredients:

8 (7") flour tortillas (the kind that has to stay refigerated, found in the refig isle)

Prep:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cut tortillas with a pizza cutter to make 6 triangular pieces.  Lightly spray both sides with water and dip in sugar/cinnamon mixture (I just mixed sugar/cinnamon in a bowl together)

Bake 8-10 minutes or until starting to get brown.

Let cool completely then enjoy!!!



Cinnamon Chip Cookies!!!

Mmm these cookies are the best!  This is a special recipe that my Aunt uses and instead of Chocolate Chips, she put Cinnamon chips in them and OMG they are so good!  The only problem is finding the Cinnamon Chips- my Aunt mails them to me because we don't have them here, it seems to be a Northern thing, but maybe if you have a Meyers you can find them! Here is what the bag looks like...

Now, lets get cookin' and make these cookies!!

Ingredients:
1 Cup butter
1 C sugar
1 C brown sugar
2 eggs
1t Vanilla
2 1/2 C oatmeal (grind in a blender or food processor until powder form)
1/2 t salt
1t baking powder
1t baking soda
1/2 regular size bag of Cinnamon Chips (can replace with Chocolate Chips if you can't find Cinnamon chips)

Prep:
Melt butter.  Add sugar and brown sugar, eggs and vanilla.  In separate bowl add all dry ingredients.  Take 2 1/2 cups of oatmeal and blend into blender or food processor until powder form.  Mix all by hand and add in 1/2 bag of Cinnamon chips. 

Place golf ball sized balls on an ungreased cookie sheet. I use parchment paper to help them peel off easier and keep my cookie sheets less messy :)

Bake cookies in a pre-heated (350 degrees) oven for 10 min or just until lightly brown.  This makes a TON of cookies :)

Enjoy, these are a sure success and something different!

Tex-Mex Chicken & Rice Skillet

This one-skillet meal is packed with flavor, thanks to the Salsa Verde.  It delivers a certain 'zip' to the dish, but not too much. I had never cooked with Salsa Verde until this dish and I will def. be using it again!!

Ingredients:

1t plus 1T vege oil

1 can Mexican-style corn

1lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1T southwestern seasoning mix

2 Cups uncooked instant white rice

2 Cups chicken broth

1 1/2 Cups salsa verde

2 T cilantro

1 Cup shredded Mexican cheese blend

Prep:

Add 1t of the oil to skillet; heat over med-high heat 1-3 min or until simmering.  Meanwhile, drain corn; pat dry with a paper twoel.  Add corn to skillet in a single layer.  Cook without stirring about 8 min. or until caramelized on one size.  Remove corn from skillet; set aside.

Cut your chicken, into 1" pieces "bite-size". Combine chicken and seasoning mix in a bowl-coat well.  Add chicken to skillet. Cook over med-high heat about 10 min. until the chicken is no longer pink in the middle, remove chicken from skillet and set aside.

Add remaining 1T oil to skillet.  Add rice; stir until well coated with oil.  Add broth and salsa; bring to a simmer then reduce heat to low and cover skillet.  Simmer about 10 min. until most of the liquid is absorbed.

To serve, spoon chicken over rice mixture in skillet. Sprinkle with cheese and corn. Cover; let stand until cheese is melted and sprinkle with Cilantro!

Wystan really liked this one, it has a little kick to it- def. a fun mexican dish, if you can't tell...we like mexican in our house!

Enjoy :)



Mac-n-cheese Chili burgers

So we grilled these burgers last night, oh my...def. on our list to make again and SOON! :)

On the left with both buns or on the right, you can leave it open faced, less carbs that way :)  I served with vegies, so good! Little cherry tomatoes, q-cumber and celery with light peppercorn ranch dressing to dip them in!

Ingredients

EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 1/2 pounds ground turkey or beef sirloin (we used beef)

1/2 cup onion, finely chopped

2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 rounded tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon coriander

1 teaspoon cumin

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1/2 cup beef stock

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons flour

1 1/4 cups milk

1 cup shredded sharp yellow cheddar cheese

1/3 pound elbow macaroni

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

Makes: 4 large burger rolls or 12 slider-size rolls (you can 1/2 this for two, although we fixed for dinner then had the left over mac n cheese/chili for lunch the next day!)

Prep:

In a small skillet, heat a drizzle of oil, about 1/2 tablespoon, over medium-high heat. Add 1/2 pound turkey or beef and brown and crumble. Add onions, garlic, chili powder, coriander, cumin, salt and pepper, and cook to soften onions, 5 minutes. Add tomato paste, stir a minute then deglaze pan with your beef stock.


In a second small pan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour, add milk and season sauce with salt and pepper. Let thicken then melt cheese into sauce.


Bring a medium saucepot of water to a boil. Salt water and cook pasta to al dente. Drain pasta and toss with cheese sauce then fold in chili.


In a mixing bowl, season remaining 2 pounds of meat with Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper, and form your burgers. Cook burgers to desired doneness. Place patties on the buns and top with some chili mac. I served with Vegies and it made a delicious dinner!

Pick a sunny day and get out that grill!
Enjoy 8)

Desert??

A yummy family recipe...

MOUNDS BARS!!!

Ingredients:
3C. Crushed graham crackers (you can either stick in food processor or in a freezer bag and mash)
1/4 C sugar
1/2 C butter
1 smaller size can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk
1 7-oz pkg flaked coconut
1 lg. pkg milk choc chips
1 T peanut butter

prep:
Mix first three ingredients in mixing bowl and once blended well, spray Pam in a 9x11 pan and add your mixture patting it evenly out with your hand.  Bake 10 min. on 350.  Remove from oven.  Over baked crumbs pour sweetened condensed milk and sprinkle the coconut.  Bake 15 minutes.  Coconut should be golden brown around its edges.  In a double boiler, melt chocolate chips and peanut butter. After all is melted, pour mixture over coconut.  Put in fridge to harden to set. Take out and use a sharp cutting knife to cut into squares. 

YUM-O!! This is by far one of my families favorites!!!



Mexican night!

Beef Enchilada Casserole-Definetly a FAVORITE in my household!! :)
Ingredients:
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 tbsp Southwestern seasoning mix
1/4 tsp salt
1 can enchilada sauce
3/4 C water
1/2 C medium thick and chunky salsa
12 yellow corn tortillas
1/4 C snipped fresh cilantro
1 C shredded colby and monterey Jack cheese


(Sour cream and lime wedges-optional)


Combine beef, seasoning mix and salt in skillet, cook over med.-high heat 8-10 min. or until beef is no longer pink, breaking beef into crumbles.  Add enchilada sauce, water and salsa to skillet. Bring to a simmer then remove from the heat.


As beef mixture cooks, place tortillas in a stack and cut into 1 in. pieces using a pizza cutter.  Snip cilantro.


Arrange half of the tortillas evenly over bottom of a deep dish pan. Top with half of the beef mixture and half of  the cheese.  Sprinkle 2tbsp. of the cilantro over cheese. Top with remaining tortillas, beef and cheese.


Microwave on high 3-5 min. or until cheese is melted and garnish with cilantro.  Serve with sour cream and lime wedges

A fun summer dish!

BLT Mac and Cheese-A recipe I found and played around with- SO delic!
Ingredients:
5 C water
8 slices bacon4oz sharp white cheedar cheese- grated (I grate fresh)
1 oz. parmesan cheese
4 oz. cream cheese
** if you like cheesier you can double all cheese ingredients**
1lb. uncooked celletani pasta
1tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 large leek
3 large plum tomatoes


Prep:
to start pasta mixture, bring water to a boil
Meanwhile, cook bacon and chop-set to the side


Add pasta, cream cheese, grated cheese, salt and pepper to boiler water. Cover and simmer vigorously 5 min. stirring OCCASIONALLY.


As pasta mixture cooks, cute your leek into small squares and cut your tomatoe the same.  Cook, uncovered, 5-7 minutes or until pasta is cooked and sauce is thickened.


Take off the heat and mix in your tomatoe and bacon...I also top with more fresh ground pepper and parm cheese

2 Yummy Rach Ray slow cooker recipes...

I don't know about you, but I find it super easy just to fix a meal in the crock pot while Kennedy is taking her nap then it's ready when Wystan gets home!  If you work, I used to prepare the night before then put in the crock-pot before leaving for work so it would be ready when we got home that evening to enjoy!

Slow cooker Chicken -n- Bisquits:
Ingredients:
8 boneless/skinless chicken breat
1/2 cup flour + 3T flour
Salt/pepper to taste
2T olive oil
2 C butternut squash
3 ribs of celery
3 carrots
1 onion
Sage
Thyme
3 1/2 C chicken broth
1 C frozen peas
2T Dijon mustard
2T Dill
2T Parsley
1 can of bisquits

Dredge chicken pieces in 1/2 cup flour and salt/pepper
Heat Olive oil and brown chicken pieces on all sides.

Mix: chicken, squash, celery, carrots, onion, sage, thyme, 3 T flour, salt/pepper. Mix to combine then pour in the chicken broth.  Cover and cook, undisturbed, for high: 4 hours or low: 6 hours.

When done: add peas, dijon and dill, parsley and combine to warm peas.  Then place a biscuit on the plate, pour goodies on top then top with dill/parsley for color.

Crock-pot French Dip Brisket meltsIngredients:
1T EVOO (Extra virgin Olive Oil)
4 slices bacon- chopped
salt/pepper to taste
1- 3lb. beef brisket
1 Large onion (sliced thin)
2 cloves of garlic
1 bay leaf
1 box mushrooms (quartered)
2 T worcestershire sauce
2 C beef broth (I get the boxed kind)
2 T thyme
2 T honey

To serve:
Bread-toasted
sliced swiss cheese
Parsley

Prep:
1T Olive Oil, wait until it's heated, then add bacon to pan and cook. Remove bacon but leave grease.

Season with salt/pepper brisket and golden brown on each side (about 4 min.)  While the meat is searing, add to the crock pot- bacon, onion, garlic, mushrooms, beef stock, thyme, wors. sauce, and honey.  Season with salt/pepper and stir all together.  Add meat on top and cover.

Cook on high: 5 hours
Low: 7-8 hours

to serve:
Dunk bread in sauce
top with vegies from crock pot and add slabs of meat on top
sprinkle parsley on top to add color

Welcome! Come cook with me...

Hello!

By request of many of my friends and family members I am starting a blog with yummy recipes I have either come up with, found from Rachael Ray or our families compiled recipes. I hope everyone LOVES cooking for their families as much as I have! I have found a new-love for cooking after getting into the Rachael Ray show (Mon-Fri 4pm) She has amazing recipes (I tweak them to my families taste! :) and I LOVE her cooking store!

Start your grocery list, go shopping, get on your aprons and LETS GOOOOOO!