Luscious Chicken Burritos

5 large chicken breasts
5 cans of beans *any but green*
4 cups salsa
slow cook all day till chicken tenderly falls to pieces (6 hours on high- 8+ on low)
1 box of cream cheese *fat free*
24 tortillas or use as a nocho chips
Mexican cheese to garnish top before serving

Baked Salmon

Ingredients

• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup and 2 tablespoons light olive oil
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
• 6 (6 ounce) fillets salmon or 1 large fillet of king salmon
  

Directions

1. In a medium glass bowl, prepare marinade by mixing garlic, light olive oil, basil, salt, pepper, lemon juice and parsley. Place salmon fillets in a medium glass baking dish, and cover with the marinade. Marinate in the refrigerator about 1 hour, turning occasionally.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
3. Place fillets in aluminum foil, cover with marinade, and seal. Place sealed salmon in the glass dish, and bake 35 to 45 minutes, until easily flaked with a fork.

This family favorite recipe comes form All Recipes.com. We love it with brown rice or with hashbrowns! Enjoy!

Jumping On The Chuckwagon and White Chili Recipe!

I've seen some posts lately about 'make ahead and freeze' meals. So, I'm jumping on the 'chuckwagon', so to speak. I think it's a great idea and whenever I take the time to do it, it always serves me well!

So far, I have these two meals frozen in the freezer. Gallon Ziplock bags of regular chili and white chili...
Here is the recipe for this wonderful White Chili...

White Chili
1 tbsp canola or vegetable oil
1 med onion chopped
1 garlic clove minced
1 15 oz. can garbanzo beans
2 cans great northern beans
1 pound grilled or cooked chicken, cubed
1 14 oz. can chicken broth
1 14 oz. can niblet style corn
1 4 oz. can green chilis
1 teas cumin
1 teas salt
1/2 teas pepper

Saute onion and garlic in oil. Add all the rest of the ingredience. Stir and bring to a boil. Simmer 30 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in...

1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup heavy cream
parsley (optional)

Serve over frito chips and top with chopped avocado if desired.

*********************************

And here's what I have going on for tomorrow morning...
I thought I would start small with mashed potatoes and rice pilaf. So that way, I can take out one or the other early in the day and add it to my supper for the evening. You know what that means right? No rushing to peal potatoes at 5 o'clock and no stressing over the 45 minutes it takes to cook brown rice! It's all done and I just have to warm it up in the oven along with my meat. Then I throw together a fresh salad, cook some beans or corn from the freezer and voila! Supper's on at 5:30-right as my husband walks in the door from work! Chows On! Well, maybe...

Anyway, wish me luck. I will let you know how it goes and keep you updated on more recipes that I try. I have heard of several moms getting together and doing this all together in one day. Any of you local Mom's up for that sometime? Let me know! ;)

Have a super weekend,

Scalloped Potatoes

INGREDIENTS

• 5 large potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 3 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cups chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• Paprika

DIRECTIONS

1. In a greased 2-1/2-qt. baking dish, layer potatoes and onion.
2. In a saucepan, melt the butter; stir in flour until smooth. Gradually add broth, mayonnaise, salt and pepper; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thick and bubbly. Pour over potatoes. Sprinkle with paprika.
3. Cover and bake at 325 degrees for 2 hours or until tender.

To make this a meal dish, I add diced ham or sausage to it. Enjoy!

Thick 'n Crusty Chicken Pot Pie

1 (2-3 lb.) broiler/fryer
1 onion, quartered
1 stalk celery, cut in large pieces
1 tsp. each of basil, thyme, and rosemary leaves
1 tsp. salt
1 bay leaf

Combine all in Dutch oven, cover with water and bring to a boil. Cover Dutch oven, reduce heat and simmer 1 hr. or until chicken is tender. Remove chicken from broth; strain broth, reserving 1 1/2 cups. Cool chicken, remove from bone and chop into bite-sized pieces.

Gravy filling:
Steam over medium heat until tender crisp, one cup each of diced celery, thinly sliced carrots, diced potatoes, frozen corn and onion. Add 1/2 c. flour, stir until smooth. Cook 1 minute stirring constantly. Gradually add reserved broth and 1 1/2 cups milk or half and half; cook over medium heat stirring constantly until thickened. Stir in 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. pepper and cooked, chopped chicken.

Pastry:
3 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 c. shortening
1 egg, beaten
1/4 c. plus 1 tbsp. ice water
1 tbsp. vinegar

Combine flour and salt, cut in shortening. Mix remaining ingredients and sprinkle over top. Stir until all dry ingredients are moistened. Divide dough in half and roll out one half and place in a 3-quart oval baking dish.

Pour chicken filling into crust and top with remaining dough. Pinch edges to seal crust and cut air holes into top crust.

Bake at 400° for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Creamed Potatos, Carrots & Peas

In Loving Memory of Grandpa John and his abundant garden.

Wash and cut new red potatos into bite size pieces. Enough to cook in 4 quart pot. Cook until potatoes are tender but not mushy.

Peel and cut up about 8 carrots. Shell and wash about 3 to 4 cups of peas. I place my carrots and peas in separate bowls in my steamer and steam them for about 15-20 min while potatoes are cooking.

Meanwhile put 1/4 cup butter and 2 very heaping tbs. flour in 2 quart pot on medium heat. Beat butter and flour together with gravy whip until melted and smooth. Pour and beat in 1/2 cup of whipping cream. Then whip in around 2 cups (more or less depending on thickness) milk while butter mixture is hot and bubbling until sauce thickens. Add Lowry and Salt to taste.

Drain potatoes and add carrots and peas and sauce. Gently mix until everything is coated with sauce. Garnish with Paprika and serve hot.

Thanks Mom for the recipe,

King Salmon on the Grill

Slice 1 or 2 sweet onions (depending on size) and saute' in 1/4 cup of butter or more until tender. Set aside and begin heating grill to medium heat.(around 350 degrees) Make a long narrow 'tray' with heavy duty tin foil by folding up little edges and pinching the corners together. Spray or butter the bottom of the tray. Lay salmon fillet skin side down on tray and layer onions and butter drippings on top and then sprinkle Celtic Sea Salt and dill weed on top. Grill with lid mostly closed until meat becomes flaky when pried with a fork in the thickest part of the fillet. Don't flip and try not to overcook! Remove tray from grill and serve on platter. Enjoy!

This Fabulous Recipe comes from Ryan and Jeannie! Thanks!

Three-Cheese Lasagna

With all the flavors of lasagna but none of the layering work, this recipe is as easy as it is delicious.

2 lb ground beef or ground turkey

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 package bowtie noodles

2 Tb Italian seasonings

2 1/4 cups hot water

2 cans (14-1/2 diced tomatoes, drained

1 package (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

1/2 cup chopped green onions

1 cup(8 oz) 4% cottage cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

1-1/2 cups (6 oz) shredded part skim- mozzarella cheese

• 
  
  In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat for 10 - 12 minutes or until meat is no longer pink; drain.


• 
  
  Stir in pasta and Italian seasonings, water tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms and onions, Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 - 13 minutes or until pasta is tender, Stir in cottage cheese and Parmesan cheese.


• 
  
  Transfer to tow greased 8-in. square baking dishes. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.


• 
  
  Cover and bake the remaining casserole at 350* for 15-20 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted. Cover and freeze 2nd casserole for up to 3 months.


• 
  
  To use frozen casserole: Remove from the freezer 30 minutes before baking (do not thaw). Cover and bake 350* for 1 hour. Uncover;bake 15-20 minuter longer or until heated through. Yield: 2 casseroles (4 servings each).

Note: Recipe is from Taste of home Simple and delicious - I have a huge goal --- to start letting the kids cook! If I can take baby steps I know we will make it! I have little patients for mess!!, but realize they need this exp. and I will never regret it either - Wish me luck and enjoy your easy lasagna!!!

Golden Ham Pie

Another favorite ham recipe that I've had so long I can't remember where it came from:

3 T. finely chopped onion
1/4 c. finely chopped green pepper
1/4 c. butter or margarine, melted
1/4 c. + 2 T. flour
1/4 t. pepper
2 C. milk
1 can cream of chicken soup
3 c. chopped ham
1 T. lemon juice

Sauté onion & green pepper in butter until tender. Add flour & pepper; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add milk and soup; cook, stirring constantly over medium heat until thick and bubbly. Add ham and lemon juice. Pour into greased 12x8x2 casserole. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Top with cheese biscuits (recipe following) and bake 20 minutes more.

Cheese biscuits
1 c. flour
1 1/2 T. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
2 1/2 T. shortening
3/4 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/3 c. milk

Combine dry ingredients. Cut in shortening. Stir in milk and cheese. Knead 4-5 times. Roll to 1/4" thickness and cut into squares to top ham mixture.

Crock Pot Barbecued Beef

3 lbs. boneless chuck roast

1 1/2 c. ketchup

1/4 c. packed brown sugar

1/4 c. red wine vinegar

2 tbs. dijon mustard

2 tbs. worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. liquid smoke flavoring*

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

Place meat in crock pot. Combine remaining ingredients in a mixing bowl. Pour mixture over meat. Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours or on high 4-5 hours. Remove meat from crock pot and shred meat with fork. Place shredded meat back in crock pot . Stir and serve on buns.

This is one of our favorite meals! It gets better each day as a leftover as it marinates. ENJOY!

*you find this in the aisle by steak sauce, barbeque sauce etc...once you have a little bottle it lasts forever.

Italian Suprize

I will give this a try -

Brown you choice of 1 pound ground meat with Italian seasoning and herbs.
Boil your choice of noodles till soft. Don't over cook.

When meat is done add 1/2 pesto, 1 cup sundried tomatoes, and lots artichoke hearts as desired. If it is dry add 2 T olive oil. Heat till all is warm and stir till well mixed. There were NO left overs last night. Tell me what your family thinks. There is not a distinct flavor to this.

Chicken variation

My army loved this one too!

Li'l Cheddar Meat Loaves from 2000 Taste of Home Cookbook

Yes, we are copying her again! We just had so much fun making these together. This time my helpers were Colter and Kyla. Randy even helped out by taking a couple pictures! I am really a picture person, so these picture by picture instructions are great, but can be a little time consuming as well.

Good thing for us, all the schools are closed today and emergency travel only this morning....That means-go to work if you have a 4-wheel drive pick-up but stay home otherwise. So Randy's at work, and we are here with nothing to do but post our instructions for the meat loaves we had Saturday night for supper on this recipe blog. So here it goes.....

You will need ground beef, quick oats, cheddar cheese, an egg, salt, onion, milk, brown sugar, mustard, and ketsup.

Kyla pours in 3/4 cup of milk...

and one egg. Beat together.

Kyla adds 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese,

and 1/2 cup quick oats.

Now, I dice up the onion and add 1/2 cup to the bowl.

Now Colter measures 1 teaspoon of salt and adds to the bowl.


Kyla stirs it all together.


Now we add one pound of ground beef burger.


And I mix this with my hands. Brrr! Brrrr! Brrrrrrr!


Now, I make them into little round loaves and place them in a baking pan.


In a small bowl, Colter pours in 1/3 cup of ketsup,


and then1/4 cup packed brown sugar,


And then 1 teaspoon mustard.


Then I mix it all up,


and spoon it onto the loaves.


Ready to go into the oven....


for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.


Serve up with potatoes and vegetables for a real country kitchen taste!

This is our favorite Meat Loaf. The kids beg for another loaf after they finish there first one. Hope you enjoy it too!

Cheesy Manicotti

1 pkg. (8 oz.) sliced mushrooms


2 cloves garlic, minced


3 eggs whites


1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well drained


1 container (15 oz.) part - skim ricotta cheese


1 cup shredded reduced fat mozzarella cheese divided


1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided


1 pkg. (8 oz.) Manicotti shell (14 shells,) cooked, drained


2 cups spaghetti sauce


1 1/2 cups of chicken chunks (if you desire)


Preheat oven to 350*. Spray large nonstick skillet with cooking spray. Add mushrooms and garlic; cook 5 min. on medium heat, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. beat egg whites lightly in medium bowl. Add mushroom mixture, spinach, ricotta cheese and half each of mozzarella, Parmesan cheeses and chicken; mix well. Spoon evenly into Manicotti shells. **If you have a jerky shooter or some kind of a food gun they work the best**


Place in 9 x 13 baking dish sprayed with cooking spray. Cover with spaghetti sauce.


Bake 40 min. or until heated through. Top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses; continue baking 5 min. or until mozzarella cheese is melted.


Makes 7 servings of 2 stuffed shells each.
Total time of preperation is about 1 hour 25 minutes. (not really a fast dinner, but yummy)


You may have to add a few things to your shopping list that you've bought very few times but it is so worth it! You can substitute; cottage cheese instead of the ricotta and or grated Romano cheese for the Parmesan cheese, Broccoli instead of spinach. While your preparing for this scrumptious Italian meal don't for get the french bread, & pesto, to top it all off.

Source unknown

Pork Milanese

1/3 c. all-purpose flour for dredging

2 large eggs, beaten to blend

1 1/4 cups plain dried bread crumbs

2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese

4 tsp dried basil

3 tsp dried thyme

4 8 oz center cut pork loin chops

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

2 tbs butter

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 lemon cut into wedges

Place the flour in a wide shallow bowl. Place the eggs in another wide shallow bowl. Mix the bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, basil and thyme in a third wide shallow bowl. ( I just use my kitchen plates...that works fine)

Using a meat mallet, pound the pork chops on the work surface until the are 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle the pork chops with 1 tsp each of salt and pepper. Working with one pork chop at a time, dredge the chops in the flour to coat lightly, then dip the chops into the beaten eggs, allowing the excess egg to drip off. Finally, coat the pork chops with the bread crumb mixture, pressing gently to adhere. Set the pork chops in a single layer on a baking sheet. (The pork chops can be prepared up to this point 4 hours ahead, cover and refrigerate)

Preheat the oven to 150* Line a baking sheet with a rack. In a large, heavy saute pan with high sides, melt the butter and oil over medium heat until hot. Carefully place 2 pork chops in the mixture and cook until light golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer the chops to the baking sheet and sprinkle with more salt to taste. Keep the cooked chops warm in the oven. Repeat with the remaining 2 chops.

Serve with lemon wedges.

Garlic & Herb Roasted Potatoes with Raita

4-41/2 lbs un-peeled red potatoes

1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tbs minced garlic
2 tbs minced fresh parsley
1 tbs minced fresh dill or 1 tsp dried
1 1/2 tsp minced fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried
2 tbs olive oil
2 tsp dijon mustard
RAITA
1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and coarsley grated
1/2 c plain yogurt
3/4 tsp minced fresh garlic
1 tsp lemon juice
GARNISH
Crumbled feta cheese
Chopped parsley

1. Preheat oven to 475*
2. Wash potatoes, then cut into long wedges. Mix salt, pepper, garlic and herbs in a small bowl.
3. In a large bowl, whisk oil and mustard. Add potatoes amd toss to coat. Sprinkle in herb mixture, then toss again, coating potatoes evenly.
4. Place potatoes skin side down on a greased bakin sheet. Bake for 25 minutes, or until tender.
5. Meanwhile, prepare raita: Squeeze cucumber to remove as much liquid as possible. Mix cucumber with remaining ingredients.
6. Arrange potatoes on a servinb platter. Dollop with raita then sprinkle with feta and parsley.
makes 8 servings

-This seems like a lot of work, but once you have the ingredients it really goes fast, and they are so good! Worth the effort. I made them with the pork milanese for New Year's dinner.