Easy Peasy Monday Meal

Chicken Rice A Roni Casserole

courtesy of: http://www.plainchicken.com/2011/11/chicken-rice-roni-casserole.html

Ratings:

Me: Super easy and yummy!

Hubs: "You can make this one again"

Kids: "Mommy I love it" And the baby clapped for it!

Ingredients:

1 box chicken flavored Rice a Roni (prepared according to directions on box)

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts boiled (I boil mine in chicken broth, water, and seasoning salt)

1 cup sour cream

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 small container French's  french fried onions

Directions:

Shred chicken and season with seasoning salt and pepper. Mix in soup and sour cream, then add to fully cooked rice. Preheat over to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients and pour into 9 x 13 lightly greased casserole dish. Top with onions and bake for 20 to 30 minutes. (until onions are browned)

Notes:

So this was one of my Pinterest finds. I find all kinds of yummy recipes from there. This recipe is so easy and perfect for Monday nights when you don't feel like cooking but you know you have to. I served it with creamed corn and green beans. My kids cleaned their plates. The baby just kept opening his mouth as wide as he could for me to keep shoveling it in. So needless to say this was hit.

The official "tester"

"Good Job Mommy"

A Sunday for Soup~ Lasagna Soup

Lasagna Soup

Ratings:

Me - Love Love Love

Hubs- " I am eating this for every meal until its gone!"

Kids: " I don't like soup"

Anna: (my bud) "The soup and noodles part is really good I just don't like sausage"

Ingredients:

1 package Italian Sausage Mild

1 T olive oil

1 box mini farfalle noodles

1 bag mini pepperonis

1 can tomato paste

2 boxes chicken broth

1 large can italian style tomatoes chopped

1/4 onion chopped

1 T chopped garlic

1 Knorr concentrated chicken stock

Crushed red pepper flakes

Italian Seasoning
Garlic Salt

Pepper

Steps:

1. Roll sausage into miniature balls and cook until light brown in olive oil. Add onion and garlic and continue to cook until onion is transparent. Set aside.

2. In a large crock pot combine broth, stock, tomato paste, tomatoes, red pepper flakes, italian seasoning, garlic salt, and pepper. Turn heat to low for 8 hours. You do not need to cook this for 8 hours, but the longer you cook it the better it will taste. Add sausage mix to the crock pot and then pepperonis. Cover and let cook for at least 2 hours.

3. When you are ready to eat, boil the noodles and add to the crock pot.

Ricotta Topping

Ingredients:

1 container ricotta cheese

1 cup grated mozzarella

1/2 cup Parmesan

garlic salt

italian seasoning

Mix all ingredients together. Serve over, under, or mixed in with soup.

Italian Toasties

Ingredients:

1 loaf french bread sliced

Butter

Garlic Salt

Italian Seasoning

Parmesan

Spread butter on each piece of toast then sprinkle with remaining ingredients. Cook at 350 for 5 to 8 minutes until you reach desired crispiness.

Lasagna Soup with Ricotta Topping mixed in

Lasagna Soup with Ricotta Topping







Notes:

This soup is spicy and may not be suitable for those who don't enjoy spicy foods or kids. 

Date Night with the Hubs Friday 01/27/12

At least once a month, Jared and I try to escape ours hectic lives and devote a night to each other. Friday just so happened to be our night to do that! On these nights you will not find me in the kitchen creating a craving, instead I'll just be out enjoying one. This particular date night was centered around going to the Comedy Club at 7:30 so Jared and I needed to pick somewhere that had a great Happy Hour. Somewhere cheap, that offered a variety of choices, and great atmosphere. Naturally we chose the Cheesecake Factory. Now normally I would not put the Cheese cake Factory and cheap in the same sentence, but they have a surprisingly reasonable Happy Hour menu with a wide variety of choices. If I had to guess I'd say anywhere from 30 to 50 "small plates" ranging from $3 to $7. Not to mention Happy Hour Includes $5 specialty drinks, $5 well drinks, $4 wines, and $3 beers. It lasts from 4 pm to 6 pm Monday through Friday, but if you get there any later than 4:00, you might as well just turn around and leave. Happy Hour is first come first serve tables and CCF fills up fast!

Now for the food. my husband and I share the same theory, "When its cheap, eat eat eat!" And we did. We started off with the Tex Mex Egg rolls and Buffalo Blasts. These were roughly around $5 a piece. In my mind I'm thinking there will be 2 or 3 pieces to a plate....wrong! There were 6 egg roll halves and 6 buffalo blasts that were the size of Jared's hand. This literally was a meal in it self but we weren't stopping there.



Tex Mex Egg rolls with spicey avocado ranch



Buffalo Blasts with Ranch

We decided to go a little lighter for round 2, we ordered the house salads on the Happy Hour menu, $3.50 and substitute ranch for the house vinaigrette. As for drinks I had J.W.'s pink lemonade and 2 margarita's. The lemonade was okay, but the margs were Delicious. Jared had a Long Island Iced Tea which he wasn't a fan of and a beer. So 2 apps, 2 salads, and 5 drinks later we were at $46.00. I'd say that's pretty good.

I will be on the look out for a copycat recipe for the Tex Mex egg rolls. I think I found one for the buffalo blasts. I will give it a try and let you know. Maybe Super Bowl snack?
CHEESECAKE FACTORY'S BUFFALO BLASTS(copycat recipe)

pack of wonton wrappers (large squares)
one egg white
1 chicken breast or canned chicken for a short cut
frank's buffalo style hot sauce
grated cheese (I'm gonna try the Kraft Mexican Blend with Philadelphia)
bread crumbs (both plain large crumbs and italian style)

Bake the chicken breast at 375 until done. Shred the breast (I only use the inside because it's the most tender).

Lay out the wonton wrapper and lay chicken breast inside with cheese and drizzle hot sauce over it. I like to add a little garlic powder to mine. Moisten the edges of the wonton with water or egg white and fold it horizontally, pressing the edges closed. Use a pastry brush and brush egg white over the outside and cover with a mix of the italian and plain bread crumbs.

Place them two at a time into a deep fryer at 375 until they're golden brown. Make sure to turn them. Place on a napkin or paper towel to drain excess oil off.

Serve ranch or blue cheese dressings

Creamy Crock Pot Chicken Over Pierogies

Creamy Crock Pot Chicken Over Pierogies

Ratings: 

Me: **** (delicious)

Husband: **** (went back for seconds)

Kids: **** (cleaned plate with only minor complaints)

Recipe:

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts quartered

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1/2 stick butter

1 pkg Good Seasons dry Italian Dressing Mix

1 cup dry white wine (or chicken broth)

1 8 oz cream cheese cubed

1 T chopped garlic (optional)

10 - 15 Frozen Cheddar Pierogies

1/2 stick butter

Directions:

Combine first 6 ingredients in a large crock pot and cook on high for 4 to 6 hours, until ingredients have melted and chicken is fully cooked. (you will be able to shred the chicken when ready). Stir occasionally.

When chicken has finished prepare pierogies in a nonstick skillet with remaining butter. Saute until golden brown. Serve creamy chicken over pierogies.

Variations and Tips:

Typically this chicken recipe is served over egg  noodles or rice, but I wanted to mix it up. These 2 go perfectly together! I highly recommend that you try it with pierogies before you try it any other way. These little potato stuffed pockets are a great and simple addition to any meal! If you've never had one, you can find them in the freezer section of any grocery store. 

 The wine can be substituted for chicken broth, but you won't get that "bite" that the wine provides if you make the substitution. Typically I would serve a veggie but honestly it didn't need it and I was too lazy. So I craved it, I cooked it, and I loved it! Happy Cravings Everyone! Good Night!

How I pick my meals

Hi! Welcome to my blog, I wasn't really sure that I wanted to start a blog because I wasn't really sure what I would write about. Then it became obvious.....FOOD! I love to cook and I know people are always looking for recipes online. I know this because that is how I found my recipes. I think about something that sounds good to eat and then I "Google" it. I make my decisions off of pictures and ratings (if they have them). Generally I know what kinds of ingredients I want to use. For example I prefer a creamy version of shrimp and grits,so I make sure to include that in my search or if it's a specific ingredient I will include that as well. I find the recipe that fits closest to what I am envisioning/ craving and I modify it while I cook. If its a success, I make adjustments to the recipe and file it away. I base success off of 3 things: my own personal enjoyment, if my husband goes back for seconds, and if my son says "its' delicious mommy!" Sometimes 2 outa 3 ain't bad is my theory. Can't win em all. I try to cook at least 4 times a week and I usually have some kind of event that I test out appetizers on. When I cook something new I will add it to the blog with pics, ingredients, tips,and ratings. I hope you all enjoy my cravings!