Using my guilt for good

Here's the deal...I haven't cooked much at ALL in the past month. I am so tired, I was sick of my kids not eating things I spent time making, and if you're reading this blog, you know my deal with cooking skills.

Here's the thing...I've been lazy. I need to get back on the cooking wagon, and I need to change our eating habits. Of course, I feel way less healthy when we're constantly eating out. Even when I cook, though, I just don't cook healthy things. They are sub-par, good-enough-for-calling it a meal, very much lacking in vitamins and minerals, etc.

Here's the plan...I'm cooking again. I'm cooking to save money and also to put home-cooked food in our bodies instead of fast food. I'm also cooking to get us back on track health-wise. My goal right now is to cook the foods that are in our pantry, fridge, freezer, cabinets, etc. I have planned meals from what we have on-hand. THEN, after the holidays, I want to start fresh. I want to plan our meals based on what is good for us. I want our meals to at least START with whole foods. I don't want to be ridiculous about this, because I know I will set my goals too high and fail and be right back where I started. So I'm going with the "Focus on what you can ADD to your diet first, then you can start letting unhealthy things go."

I myself want to cut back on many things (if not entirely), but I know this process is always hardest on kids. My kids are healthy, we don't have any behavior/health problems that are bringing on my desire to change our eating habits...so really, it's no rush.

Here are the meals I have planned based on the food we currently have in our house. Starting in January, I will hopefully be starting the road to healthy eating!! (Do NOT mistake this for a new year's resolution........I will NOT go there!!)

Meal 1: Sloppy Joes, mac and cheese, frozen peas
Meal 2: Italian Chicken Breasts, corn on the cob, TX Toast
Meal 3: "Chipotle" Chicken Burritos, chips and salsa/queso
Meal 4: Crock Pot Stew on any toasted bread
Meal 5: Crock Pot Chicken Parmesan, canned vegetable
Meal 6: Taco Soup
Meal 7: Sicilian Meatloaf with vegetable
Meal 8: Biscuits, bacon, eggs
Meal 9: Muffins, Smoothies, Fruit Salad
Meal 10: Spaghetti and Meatballs, vegetable, bread

Maybe Blue does have a clue

My oldest brought home a recipe from a friend's Blue's Clue's book the other day. We had all of the ingredients on hand, so I figured "why not?" Well, it turns out they were really yummy!

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Blue's Banana Muffins

Ingredients:

3 large bananas

1 1/2 c flour

1 c brown sugar

1/2 c butter

2 eggs

1/4 c sour cream

1/4 t salt

1 t vanilla

1 t baking soda

1 1/2 t baking powder

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray muffin pan.

2. Cream together butter and sugar.

3. Add sour cream, eggs, mashed bananas, and vanilla to butter mixture.

4. Mix all dry ingredients in separate bowl and add to butter mixture.

5. Pour batter into muffin tins.

6. Bake for 20-30 minutes until muffins are golden brown and spring back to the touch.

Rocky Road Candy

Rocky Road Candy

Ingredients:

1 (12 oz) pkg. semisweet chocolate chips

1 (12 oz) pkg. butterscotch chips

1/2 c. butter

1 (10 1/2 oz) pkg miniature marshmallows

1 c. peanuts

Instructions:

1. In a 4 qt microwave safe bowl, combine chips and butter. Microwave on 70% power for 5 minutes or until melted.

2. Stir and fold in marshmallows and peanuts.

3. Spread in buttered 9x13 pan.

4. Refrigerate for about 2 hours until set. Cut into squares.

White Chicken Chili (Crock Pot)

My friend, Brandi, posted this recipe on her cooking blog, and I made it yesterday. YUM!! So easy, simple ingredients, and you can just stick frozen chicken breasts in the Crock Pot. Awesome...
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White Chicken Chili
1 1/4 lbs boneless frozen or thawed skinless chicken (I just threw 3 breasts in the crockpot)
2 (15 oz) cans great northern beans or navy beans
1 (15 oz) can of hominy or white corn (I would suggest white corn. Hominy was not my fave)
1 (1 1/4 oz) envelope taco seasoning
1 (4 1/2 oz) can of chopped green chilies
1 (10 3/4 oz) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 (14 oz) can chicken broth
1/2 C. sour cream
chopped green onion (optional, but I suggest!)
monterey jack cheese (optional, but I suggest!)

Directions:

1. Place chicken in a 4 qt slow cooker.
2. Top with beans and corn.
3. In a medium bowl, combine taco seasoning, chilies, condensed soup, and broth. 4. Pour over top of ingredients in crock pot.
5. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours.
6. Before serving, stir gently to break up chicken, then stir in the sour cream. Serve topped with green onions and jack cheese, if desired.

*We also topped ours with crushed up tortilla chips, AND I had avocados that I intended to use but totally forgot about. HA! That would have been good with it, too,though, had I remembered!

Going out on a limb

We often have random things around that I know won't get eaten by the expiration date, but that I hate to just toss. This week, it's half a big link (is that what you call it?) of summer sausage and 2 random green peppers my husband brought home from work. I still haven't asked him where in the world those peppers came from! I'm assuming they're from a patient's garden or something. Anyway, when the random-ingredient issue hits, I surrender to Allrecipes.com. Here's what it came up with for us:

Letcho

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 onions, sliced
• 2 green or red bell peppers, seeded and chopped
• 1 pinch salt and pepper to taste
• 2 teaspoons mild paprika, or to taste
• 4 tomatoes, chopped
• 9 ounces hot pepperoni sticks or summer sausage, sliced

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and green peppers; cook and stir until soft. Season with salt, pepper and paprika. Put in tomatoes, cover and simmer for about 5 minutes.
2. In a separate skillet, fry the pepperoni or sausage until browned. Mix into the pan with the tomatoes. Cover and simmer for 5 more minutes. Serve over hot cooked rice.

Now, I can just about guarantee my kids won't eat this, but it should be a fun change for the 2 adults in this house who eat kid-friendly food almost every single night of every single day of every single month of........

Here's to a nice dinner for me and the hubs (and an extra pizza night for the boys!)

Gotta love it...

My mother-in-law bought me probably the best cookbook I have ever been gifted for my birthday back in August. It is a cookbook for college students...you know, those on-a-tight-budget, without-any-cooking-skills, crunched-for-time people! Perfect book for my kitchen if I do say so myself!! :) I will definitely be trying and posting recipes from this book, and I'm using many of the recipes to create Month 3 of meals. This one hasn't been tested yet by my fam, but I'm assuming it's simple enough...(famous last words, right?!) Oh well, here's the recipe. I'll be sure to delete it if it's just awful after I make it.

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Chicken Parmesan

*Crock pot!! Woohoo!!*

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 (10 3/4 oz.) cans cream of chicken soup

3/4 c grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 - 1/2 c water

Salt and pepper, to taste

(Vermicelli) noodles, cooked (I'll use whatever I have on hand)

Instructions:

1. In a slow cooker, combine all ingredients except noodles.

2. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours.

3. Serve over noodles.

Sicilian Meatloaf

Shout out to my mom for this one!! I don't know if she "invented" it or if she got it from someone else, but I do know it is good!
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Sicilian Meatloaf

Ingredients:
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 c bread crumbs
1/2 c tomato juice
2 T parsley
1/2 t oregano
1/4 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1 small clove garlic, minced
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2 pounds lean beef (Make sure it's lean!!)
8 thin slices ham (I use sandwich thin deli meat)
6 oz. grated mozzarella cheese (I actually use shredded)
3 slices mozzarella cheese

Instructions:
1. Combine first 8 ingredients (above the solid line in this post)
2. Stir in beef and mix well.
3. On wax paper, pat beef into 10x12" rectangle (or something close)
4. Arrange ham on top of beef.
5. Sprinkle on shredded/grated cheese.
6. Roll up.
7. Bake at 350 for 1 hour*

*LAST 10 minutes, place mozzarella slices on top to melt.

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Good sides for this:
Mashed potatoes
Southern-Fried potatoes
Green bean casserole
Hashbrown Casserole

Overnight French Toast

Ingredients:
1/2 loaf white bread
4 eggs
1 c milk
2 T sugar
1/2 t vanilla
cinnamon
(powdered sugar for dusting)

Instructions:
1. Spray pan and lay one row of bread down. Cover with egg mixture.
2. Repeat until all bread is covered.
3. Soak overnight (or all day) in fridge.
4. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes.

Another meal without a recipe

After all, meals without recipes are some of my favorite!! ;) The downside to most of my "meals without recipes" is that they are usually quite unhealthy. Take this one for instance...

Biscuits with Sausage Gravy, Scrambled Eggs, and Smoothies!

For the biscuits, I used Pillsbury refrigerated southern style biscuits. Put them on the pan, bake for 13 minutes, done.

For the gravy, I used Pioneer Brand's Country sausage flavor gravy mix. It's with all of the soup packages in an envelope. All you have to add is water. Hold on, I'm not done with the unhealthy stuff yet...

I added Jimmy Dean refrigerated sausage crumbles to the gravy. They come in a package, cooked for you, and ready to be re-heated. Awesome.

So I put the biscuits in the oven, made the gravy, re-heated the sausage and mixed it up in the gravy, scrambled the eggs, and made smoothies with (yes, packaged) Jamba smoothie frozen fruits and apple juice. Then, I put it all on the table with jelly, honey, and butter for self-serving...and while the boys doused their biscuits in honey, I enjoyed a nice, hot biscuit with sausage gravy, yummy scrambled eggs, and a scrumptious smoothie to top it all off.

Planning ahead...month 2

I didn't like the format of the calendar last time (for month 1)....or rather, I liked the calendar, I just couldn't get it to fit correctly without running through the right sidebar, so I'm doing it this way this time!

Basic Weekly Schedule:

Sundays
-Easy breakfast
-Eat out for lunch
-Dinner at the in-laws'

Mondays
(During the week, I only plan dinners ahead of time)
Breakfast for Dinner

Tuesdays
Italian Dinner (I use the category loosely, as *IANACAH)
If baseball is happening that night, soup or crock pot dinner!

Wednesdays
Pizza-ish meal (baseball night)

Thursdays
Mexican Dinner (again, loosely :) )

Fridays
All the other categories the rest of my food fits under besides Mexican, Italian, and breakfast. Sadly, it's not a long list of categories!!

Saturdays
Typically, leftovers are nice when available. If not, I try to use up whatever wasn't used up during the week...which can mean quite a hodgepodge of a dinner!

*I AM NOT A COOK AT HEART! ;)
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Here goes Month 2 of Meals!!

WEEK ONE::
Monday- Oven Baked Fritatta, blueberry muffins, smoothies
Tuesday- Mario's Chicken and Noodles (and I call that a "whole meal!!")
Wednesday- Stromboli, cucumber slices and carrots with French onion dip
Thursday- Burritos, rice, corn, and chips (with some queso and salsa, OF COURSE!)
Friday- Sloppy Joes, Hashbrown Casserole, brownies for dessert
Saturday- Leftovers/Hot Hoagies or Philly Cheesesteaks/BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

WEEK TWO::
Monday- Pancakes, Bacon, Eggs, and Smoothies
Tuesday- Chicken Tortilla Soup
Wednesday- Make-your-own English muffin pizzas, raw veggies with Ranch dressing
Thursday- Beef Enchiladas, refried and black beans, rice
Friday- Crock Pot Stew, French bread, Apple crumble and ice cream for dessert
Saturday- Leftovers/Soft tacos

WEEK THREE::
Monday-Omelets, smoothies
Tuesday- Baked Ziti, Salad, Garlic Bread
Wednesday- Frozen pizza
Thursday- Southwestern Chicken, avocado slices, rice
Friday- Ronald Reagan macaroni, milkshakes for dessert
Saturday- Leftovers

WEEK FOUR::
Monday- Breakfast Burritos (scrambled eggs, sausage, and cheese rolled up in a soft tortilla shell), fruit salad
Tuesday- Cheesy Chicken Casserole, rolls
Wednesday- Homemade cheese pizza, tossed salad
Thursday-Taco night!!
Friday- Chuck Roast BBQ Sandwiches, mashed potatoes, Tomato Basil Asparagus Pasta Salad, mini monster cookies for dessert
Saturday-Leftovers/Taco salad/Mexican pizzas

WEEK FIVE::
Monday- Biscuits and honey/jelly, bacon, and eggs, Smoothies
Tuesday- Shepherd's Pie
Wednesday-Chicken and Ranch pizza, raw veggies
Thursday- White Chicken Chili with fritos
Friday- Sausage-Stuffed French Loaf, Cucumber slices, Microwaved S'mores for dessert
Saturday- Leftovers

Tomato Basil Asparagus Pasta Salad

Ingredients:
16 oz. penne pasta
1 lb. asparagus, cut into 2" pieces
Lemon Garlic and Herb Vinaigrette dressing
1 oz. fresh basil, chopped
Grape tomatoes, halved

Instructions:
1. Cook pasta. Add asparagus during last 2 minutes of cooking.
2. Drain and rinse in cold water.
3. Stir in 1 c dressing and basil
4. Pour 3/4 c dressing over pasta.
5. Stir in grape tomatoes.
6. Chill for 1 hour.
7. Toss with rest of dressing and serve!

Ronald Reagan Macaroni

Don't ask...I have no idea why this is named after Ronald Reagan. I just know it's easy, and it's basically like homemade mac and cheese with diced ham and ritz crackers. The kids love it :)
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Ronald Reagan Macaroni

Ingredients:
8 oz. hot cooked macaroni noodles
shredded cheddar cheese to your liking
diced ham
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups milk (See instructions below before you pour the whole 2 cups in!)
Ritz crackers, crushed

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In a greased casserole dish, layer cooked macaroni, cheese, salt, pepper, and ham.
3. Pour milk over all...JUST until you can see the milk rising up through the pasta. 2 cups is often too much in my opinion.
4. Spread crackers over top and bake 40 minutes or until crackers are turning light brown.

Crock Pot Stew

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. beef
1 can creamed corn
1 can DelMonte Original Recipe Stewed Tomatoes
1/2 c ketchup
loaf of French bread

Instructions:
1. Brown and drain beef.
2. Combine all (except bread) in crock pot. Cook on low for 8 hours.
3. Serve with (or even ON slices of toasted bread)

Southwestern Chicken in the Crock Pot

Ingredients:
2 cans (15 1/4 oz.) whole kernel sweet corn, drained
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained
1 jar (16 oz.) chunky salsa, divided
6 chicken breasts*
1 c shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions:
1. Combine corn, beans, and 1/2 c salsa in crock pot.
2. Top with chicken.
3. Pour remaining salsa over chicken.
4. Cook on low 7-8 hours.
5. Sprinkle with cheese and replace lid until cheese melts.

*This is REALLY good with Pilgrim's Pride "Eat Well, Stay Healthy" Frozen chicken fillets!!

Baked Ziti

Ingredients:
1 pkg ziti or penne noodles
1 large container cottage cheese
2 large bags shredded mozzarella cheese
1 large jar spaghetti sauce
Beef

Instructions:
1. Boil noodles and brown beef.
2. Layer noodles, beef, sauce, and cottage cheese in greased casserole dish.
3. Top with shredded mozzarella.
4. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.
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Throw some bagged salad and garlic bread on the plate, and call it dinner!! :)

Hashbrown Casserole

I don't usually MAKE side dishes. It takes enough planning and time and effort to make a main dish, so I typically just throw on some veggies and bread to complete our meals around here. This one is so simple, though, and it's a good "make ahead of time" dish, too, so you can put it in the fridge the night before.
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Hashbrown Casserole

Ingredients:
2 lb. bag of frozen, shredded hashbrown potatoes (I don't use the entire bag)
1/4 c melted butter
10.75 oz can of condensed cream of chicken soup
8 oz. sour cream
1 c shredded cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
crushed cornflakes (I don't crush mine very much...do as you wish :) )

Instructions:
1. Let the hashbrowns sit out for about 30 minutes before you're ready to work with them. Throw them on the floor like you would a bag of ice if they still feel hard. You need them to be easy to mix with other ingredients.
2. Combine all ingredients but hashbrowns and cornflakes into a large!! bowl.
3. Mix in hashbrowns a little at a time.
4. Pour all into very lightly greased baking pan.
5. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.
6. Add cornflakes on top for last 10 minutes of baking.

Stromboli

Ingredients:
Refrigerated pizza dough
Pizza Sauce (I use Ragu in a jar)
Shredded cheeses (cheddar, mozzarella, any you prefer)
Any pizza toppings you like (sausage, pepperonis...mini work best, etc.)
*This is also really yummy with deli meat ham rolled up right into the dough!*

Instructions:
1. Roll out dough onto ungreased cookie sheet in the shape of a rectangle.
2. Spoon pizza sauce onto dough, not too close to the edges.
3. Layer on cheese then toppings then more cheese.
4. Roll it all up so that you are rolling the long side of the rectangle over to the other long side.
5. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.
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I serve this with some raw veggies and Ranch dressing and call it DINNER!!!!!

I name recipes after the people who share them with me

Kind of like "Dawn's Chicken Casserole"...I'm sure she didn't invent the recipe for that dish, but she made it for me, I loved it, and therefore I dubbed it HERS!! Our friend, Mario, made us this once, and I think we have requested it every single dinner get-together since. (He even came to our house to make it once! ha!) Anyway, even with the instructions he gives me, the lessons I have been through while watching him make it, and every tip I have written down on my recipe card, mine still doesn't turn out as wonderful as his. Nevertheless, I continue attempting this recipe, and it's going on my month of meals this month...so here goes!
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Mario's Chicken and Noodles

Ingredients:
Olive oil
spaghetti noodles
chicken
bread crumbs
paprika
Chicken breasts
eggs

Instructions:
1. Begin boiling a pot of water.
2. Scramble the eggs and set aside.
3. Saute onions and set aside.
4. Pound the chicken breasts between two sheets of wax paper until they are thin.
5. Coat the chicken in bread crumbs. (Paprika is to your liking, I suppose.)
6. Pound the chicken a little more to get the crumbs "set." Set chicken aside, close by and ready to roll if you get stressed out easily while cooking like I do.
7. Once the water is boiling on the stove, heat a little olive oil on the stove, and throw in the spaghetti noodles to give them a light brown color. (Note: This is where I usually make my first mistake...and I think the toasted noodles are the best part.)
8. When the noodles look light brown in color, put them immediately into the pot of boiling water.
9. Fry chicken in olive oil (add more oil as needed.)
10. While chicken is frying, drain noodles and mix scrambled eggs and sauteed onions in with noodles in the hot pot to heat all throughout.
11. Serve fried chicken on top of noodles
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YES!! It is complicated, at least for me it was and still is!! It stresses me out a little bit just typing all of that out. Here's the thing, though (since the point of this blog is supposed to be EASY cooking!): the only reason I think it's stressful is because I never do the steps in the right order. Things get burnt or cold because I am always a step (or 2!) behind. Hopefully with it all written out this way, I will do better this month. It really shouldn't be that hard...I mean, seriously!!!!!!

Oven Baked Fritatta

Ingredients:
8 eggs
3/4 c milk
dash of pepper and garlic powder
1 c shredded cheese
2 c diced ham
(any other omelet-type ingredients: sausage, spinach, etc.)

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Mix 8 eggs, milk, pepper, and garlic powder in a bowl. Whisk together.
3. Layer other ingredients in a greased 9" pie dish.
4. Pour egg mixture over layered ingredients.
5. Bake for 40 minutes to 1 hour.

Helps:
Once the eggs start to "puff up" in the baking process, you might need to press down the "toppings" lightly with a fork.
::The top of the fritatta should be a nice brown color. Stick a knife/fork down the center and make sure it comes out clean.

Cinnamon Rolls for dinner...no one complained :)

I don't know if cinnamon rolls are actually difficult to make from scratch or not, but I can tell you that this recipe below is VERY easy. I don't like nuts on almost anything, so I left those off (probably another reason my kids didn't complain about dinner....bread, sugar, cinnamon. I mean, it was basically like a dessert on your dinner plate as the main course.)

The Meal:
Pull-Apart Sticky Buns
Bacon
Eggs
*(Smoothies)
Blueberries and Grapes

*We almost always have smoothies whenever we have breakfast for dinner, but I totally forgot about them. PLUS, tomorrow is grocery day for me this week, and we needed to finish off the grapes and blueberries from the produce drawer...so it all worked out :)
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Pull-Apart Sticky Buns

Ingredients:
1/4 c chopped pecans
1/2 c sugar
1 t ground cinnamon
1 (11 oz) package refrigerated breadsticks
3T butter

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Melt butter
3. Combine pecans, sugar, and cinnamon in mixing bowl and mix.
4. Unroll dough and separate into 8 strips.
5. Dip strips in butter and then coat with pecan mixture.
6. Roll dough up into spiral roll shape and place in greased baking dish.
7. Sprinkle any leftover pecan mixture over top of rolls.
8. Bake 20-25 minutes.

Breakfast...it's what's for dinner!

Tonight...

Sausage Egg Casserole

Blueberry Muffins

Smoothies: 1 banana (sliced), bag of frozen mixed fruit, 1 cup apple juice

A recipe with one step!

Just in case, for some crazy reason, you don't have this recipe...
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Taco Soup

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef, browned
28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
15 1/4 oz. can corn, undrained
15 oz. can black beans, undrained
15 1/2 oz. can red kidney beans, undrained
1 envelope dry Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix
1 envelope dry taco seasoning
*Fritos, cheddar cheese, and sour cream

Instructions:
1. Combine and cook on low in crock pot for 4-6 hours.
2. That's it!!!!! :)

I love casseroles!

Casseroles are wonderful. You can easily add/subtract ingredients on a whim without ruining the whole dish, and best of all, you can make it during a quiet, less eventful time of your day and have it ready to throw in the oven during the crazy afternoon hours. THIS is one of my favorite casseroles. I only make part of it early on in the day, and add the rest right before cooking. Still...a lot of time and stress is saved.

A friend brought this to us after one of the babies was born, and I don't know what it is officially called. I have named it "Dawn's Chicken Casserole," because that's who made it for us. And so, without further ado, ...

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Dawn's Chicken Casserole

Ingredients:
4 large chicken breasts, boiled
16 oz. sour cream (yes, you read that correctly...probably why this is so yummy :) )
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 package Chicken-flavored Stuffing Mix (I like Kraft's Stove Top)

Instructions:
1. Cut up chicken and place in greased casserole dish.
2. Mix sour cream and soup in a bowl and fold into chicken.
3. Prepare stuffing according to package directions.
4. Press stuffing lightly onto chicken mixture.
5. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes or until stuffing looks a little brown and crispy.

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Dawn brought us a bag of steamed corn and some simple pre-made rolls from the grocery store bakery, and it ended up being one of those meals I felt like I could mix up together in a bowl and eat just like that.

Ready for some BBQ?

When I make BBQ Chicken, I boil chicken, shred it, put it in a ziploc bag, and squirt Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce all over it....and call it BBQ :) Sad, I know...but it really does taste good!

THIS is Chuck Roast BBQ, though...made with actual ingredients, and best of all - in the crock pot!

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Chuck Roast BBQ

Ingredients:
2 1/2 lbs boneless chuck roast, trimmed
1 (12 oz) cola
1/3 c Worcestershire Sauce
1 1/2 T white vinegar
1 1/2 t beef bouillon granules
3/4 t dry mustard
3/4 t chili powder
3 cloves minced garlic
Hamburger buns, if using for sandwiches

Instructions:
1. Place roast in Crock Pot, then cola and next 6 ingredients.
2. Cook on High for 6 hours or Low 9 hours.
3. Remove roast with slotted spoon and shred.
4. If desired, spoon onto hamburger buns.

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To make this a meal, add some baked beans, fruit salad, lemonade, and dessert baked by you and the kids!! YUM!

Crustless Egg Casserole

Ingredients:
bacon, 8 pieces (and/or sausage)
1 1/2 c milk
1/2 c biscuit mix
3 eggs
1/4 c butter, melted
1 c cheddar cheese
salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:
1. Cook bacon and break into pieces
2. Combine remaining ingredients in a bowl, mix with a whisk, and pour into greased 9" pie pan.
3. Sprinkle bacon and 1 c cheddar cheese on top. Use fork to push down in.
4. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes.

A Soup that makes the cut for hot Texas weather

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

2 pounds chicken, boiled and cubed or shredded
1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 (15 ounce) can beef broth (or 2 cups)
2 (15 ounce) cans chicken broth (or 4 cups)
1 tablespoon Worchestershire Sauce
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 tablespoon chili powder (adjust to taste)
1 can Rotel Tomatoes and Green Chilis
1 (15 ounce) can corn, drained
I (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
Mexican blend cheese, shredded
Tortilla chips
sour cream, optional

Instructions:

1. In large pot, saute onions in olive oil for 10 minutes or until soft.

2.Pour remaining ingredients in the pot. Mix and simmer covered for 20 minutes. Serve with shredded cheese, tortilla chips, and sour cream, if desired.

Menu for the Month

Yes, I realize it's the middle of the month...but I get so sick of sitting down each week to plan meals and thinking, "hmmmm What do I know how to cook?" I KNOW that I have more than a month's worth of things in this non-cook brain of mine...I just need to compile them into months of menus so I can rotate through them, shuffle them around, and keep adding to the list.

We'll call this Month 1

SUNDAY	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY
Eat out Sunday Dinner at Grammy's!	Cheesy Chicken Casserole	BBQ Chicken Sandwiches Baked Beans Boiled/Deviled Eggs	Pancakes Bacon Eggs Smoothies	Chef Salad	Pizza	Leftovers all day!
Eat out Sunday Dinner at Grammy's!	Sloppy Joes Carrots (Ranch Dressing) Southern-Fried Potatoes	Chicken Salad (on sandwiches or crackers) Fruit Salad	Sausage Egg Casserole Blueberry Muffins Bananas Smoothies	Baked Ziti Green Bean Casserole	Pizza Quiche	Leftovers all day!
Eat out Sunday Dinner at Grammy's!	Meatball Subs Chips and Sour Cream Dip Carrots and Cucumbers	Dawn's Chicken Casserole Peas Corn on the Cob Rolls	Overnight French Toast Bacon Smoothies	Spaghetti and Meatballs TX Toast Salad	Stromboli	Leftovers all day!
Eat out Sunday Dinner at Grammy's!	Taco Soup with fritos	Chicken Tortilla Soup Fruit Salad	Omelets Blueberry Muffins Smoothies	Philly Cheesesteaks Chocolate-Covered- Strawberries	Movie Night!! Pizza and popcorn :)	Leftovers all day!
Eat out Sunday Dinner at Grammy's!	Mario's Chicken and Noodles	Lasagna	Oven Baked Fritatta Pull Apart Sticky Buns Smoothies	Homemade Petro's	Homemade Pizza	Leftovers all day!
Eat out Sunday Dinner at Grammy's! Lunch Dinner	Poppyseed Chicken Crescent Rolls	Sicilian Meatloaf Mashed potatoes Peas	Crustless Egg Casserole Blueberry Muffins Smoothies	Tofu Tacos Mexicorn	Calzones	Leftovers all day!

*A Few things to note:

* There are links to items with recipes, you just have to click on them ;)

*I have tried to plan meals that use many of the same main ingredients so there is less waste, too, although when I start shuffling them at a later date, that plan will kind of fall through!!

*Sundays, we eat out for lunch and have dinner at my in-law's...what a blessing!!

*I don't always plan sides ahead. I tend to make the main dish and search the fridge, freezer, and pantry for things to throw on plates during that last hour before dinner. (carrots from the fridge, cucumbers I can slice up, grapes, smoothies, canned or frozen vegetables, and anything else I picked up at the store and need to use up before it goes to waste)

*You'll notice that Wednesdays are Breakfast for Dinner nights and we usually have pizza (in some form or fashion) on Friday nights :)

*When you make a month of meals and see what you, as a family, eat on a regular basis, you also notice what you DON'T eat much of. For instance, almost every dinner consists of a beef or chicken dish...NO fish. I need to find some good, easy fish recipes that my husband and boys will EAT!!

Sausage Egg Casserole

Ingredients:
12 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 lbs. ground breakfast sausage
16 oz. shredded cheddar cheese

7 slices bread, torn into pieces

Instructions:
1. Brown sausage, crumble, and drain.
2. Pour eggs in greased 9x13 dish.
3. In bowl, mix sausage, bread, and 12 oz. cheese. Pour into eggs.
4. Top with remaining cheese.
5. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 15 minutes.
6. Uncover and bake until brown and bubbly.

Cheesy Chicken Casserole

This is one meal friends have brought us after I have had babies. It is yummy and freezes well! Depending on your family's taste for spicy foods, you can adjust the amount of chili powder/cayenne pepper to your liking.

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Cheesy Chicken Casserole

Ingredients:
Cooked chicken (boiled is great)
1 pkg. spaghetti
3 c shredded cheddar cheese
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1/2 c chicken broth
1 T seasoned salt
can of diced tomatoes
chili powder or cayenne pepper

Instructions:
1. Boil spaghetti
2. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces
3. Drain tomatoes
4. Put all in a bowl. Pour in 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup.
5. Pour in 2 c cheese
6. Add chicken broth
7. Add spices
8. Pour spaghetti mixture into casserole dish. Sprinkle rest of cheese on top.
9. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes.

Sausage-Stuffed French Loaf

Another great one from Southern Living's Easy Weeknight Favorites! Don't let the number of ingredients scare you away. They are things you probably have in your fridge or pantry (if I had them in mine, I'm sure you have them in yours!)

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Sausage-Stuffed French Loaf

Ingredients:
1 (16 oz) loaf unsliced French Bread
1/2 pound sausage
1/2 pound ground chuck
1 medium onion, chopped
1 c shredded mozzarella cheese
1 large egg, beaten
1/4 c chopped fresh parsley
1 t Dijon mustard
1/4 t fennel seeds
1/4 t salt
1/4 t pepper
2 T butter
1 large clove garlic, crushed

Instructions:
1. Cut off ends of loaf; set ends aside.
2. Hollow out center of loaf with a long serrated bread knife, leaving a 1/2 inch shell.
3. Drop bread removed from inside of loaf into food processor. Process to make coarse crumbs.
4. Cook sausage, beef, and onion in a large skillet over med-high heat until meat is browned; drain.
5. Add 1 cup of reserved breadcrumbs, cheese, egg, parsley, mustard, fennel seeds, salt and pepper to skillet. Stir well.
6. Spoon meat mixture into bread shell; replace loaf ends, securing with toothpicks.
7. Melt butter in saucepan. Add garlic and cook about 1 minute.
8. Brush butter over loaf.
9. Wrap loaf in aluminum foil, leaving open slightly on top; place on baking sheet.
10. Bake at 400 for 25 minutes.
11. Cut into slices and serve!

A Southern Meal

Main Dish: Honey Ham
Side Dishes: Southern-Fried Potatoes (recipe below)
Watermelon
Deviled Eggs
Dessert: Hot Fudge Brownie Sundaes

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Southern-Fried Potatoes
(from Southern Living's Easy Weeknight Favorites)

Ingredients:
(Cast-iron skillet)
3 large red potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks (I leave the peels on)
1/2 c vegetable oil
1 small onion, chopped (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
1. Fry potato chunks in hot oil in a 9- or 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat for 12 minutes, turning often.
2. Add onion, if desired, and cook 5 more minutes.
3. Remove mixture to a serving bowl, using a slotted spoon.
4. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Banana Bread

Ready for a yummy, EASY recipe that is oh-so-NOT-good for you?? You can certainly make this one healthier by using less sugar and/or replacing the shortening with regular butter (and probably other things, but I wouldn't know because I'm NOT a cook at heart, remember??)

Banana Bread

Ingredients:
1 3/4 c flour
1 1/4 t baking powder
3/4 t salt
1/2 t baking soda
2/3 c sugar
1/3 c shortening (Crisco)
2 eggs
2 T milk
3-4 ripe bananas, mashed

Instructions:
1. Stir flour, baking powder, salt, and soda in small bowl. Set aside.
2. Mix shortening and sugar with a mixer in a large bowl.
3. Add eggs and milk to shortening mixture. Beat until smooth.
4. Add 1/2 of the flour mixture to the shortening mixture and blend with beaters.
5. Add 1/2 of the bananas, then the rest of the flour and rest of the bananas. Beat well.
6. Lightly grease 8x8 pan (or bread pan, but 8x8 pans work the best for me when getting this thing done all the way through.)
7. Bake at 350 about 30 minutes. (Just stick a fork in the middle to make sure it comes out clean, letting you know it's cooked all the way.)

I serve this with lunch, as a snack, or even as dessert!! My kids act like I'm giving them brownies :)

Italian Chicken Breasts

Italian Chicken Breasts

Ingredients:
3/4 c shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 c shredded Mozzarella cheese
1 sleeve Ritz crackers
Chicken breasts, boiled
2 eggs, beaten
1 jar spaghetti sauce

Instructions:
1. Beat eggs in a bowl, set aside
2. Crush Ritz crackers in ziploc bag.
3. Add cheeses to crackers in ziploc and shake to mix.
4. Spray pan and pour spaghetti sauce in to cover bottom.
5. Dip chicken in egg then coat with cheese and cracker mixture.
6. Set into dish, on top of sauce
7. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes
8. If desired, scoop sauce onto chicken prior to serving.

*This meal is great with buttered spaghetti noodles and a vegetable on the side!

Chipotle Chicken Burritos

As I was planning meals and making my grocery list recently, I was trying to think of meals I make that don't require pulling out a recipe card. I'm not talking about recipes I have memorized, I'm talking straight from my head, thrown together meals I have made that turned out well. For example, chicken burritos. We LOVE Chipotle, and while we have recently made the switch from burritos to the burrito bowl, I still like to make burritos at home and pretend we're eating at this beloved restaurant :)

I experimented a little bit with different chicken and toppings, and this eventually came to my rescue. Yep, pre-packaged, pre-seasoned, fully cooked chicken. STOP! Don't look at the ingredient list or nutrition content...I haven't either, and I'm still sitting here typing this, so at least you know you won't die.

The best part (in my opinion) about burritos for dinner? No need for a side dish!!
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Chipotle Chicken Burritos

Ingredients:
flour tortillas, burrito-sized
John Soules Foods' Chicken Fajitas chicken strips (whatever size bag you need)
sour cream
canned black beans
shredded cheese, I like the "Mexican" bag or Monterrey Jack and Colby cheeses
rice (again, I go for easy, so I do 90 second rice in a bag...chicken flavored seems to taste the best on these burritos, the Garden vegetable has worked well, too)
canned sweet corn
Anything else you want: diced tomatoes, guacamole, etc...

Instructions:
(I like mine layered differently than Chipotle, but all of this is obviously your own preference)
1. Heat tortillas in microwave or however you prefer
2. Spread sour cream over tortilla
3. Throw chicken, black beans, corn, and cheese on top.
4. Roll it up ever so carefully and EAT! :)

Sloppy Joes

Yummy! But these are sweet, so if you like your sloppy joes more on the tangy side, these might not be your style...For the record, my recipe called for 3/4 cup of brown sugar, and I cut it down to 1/4. Wow, I can't imagine it with any more!

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Sloppy Joes

Ingredients:
2 lbs. ground beef
1/4 c brown sugar
1 T prepared mustard
1/2 cup bbq sauce (I love Sweet Baby Ray's, so that added to the sweetness of our joes!)
2 T ketchup

Instructions:
1. Brown your beef and drain it.
2. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.
3. Slop it on a hamburger bun and eat it up!!

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I threw some watermelon on the plates and called it dinner!

Poppyseed Chicken

Even my five year old said this dinner was "delicious!!" So easy to make, ingredients you probably have in your fridge and pantry, only cooks 30 minutes. Yummy!!

Unfortunately for me, I was nursing sore gums and teeth from a visit to the dentist today, so my dinner was tomato soup with goldfish. Oh well, hopefully I can enjoy the leftovers tomorrow! :)
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Poppyseed Chicken (aka Creamy Chicken Casserole)

Ingredients:
3 c chopped cooked chicken (I boiled 3 breasts for each dish...I froze an extra dish of this)
10 3/4 oz. cream of chicken soup
8 oz. sour cream
1 T poppy seeds
Crushed crackers (I used 1 sleeve of Ritz crackers)
1/4 c melted butter (I skipped this since Ritz are buttery enough for me!)

Instructions:
1. Combine and mix chicken, soup, sour cream, and poppy seeds in a bowl.
2. Spread into greased baking dish.
3. Combine crushed crackers and butter and sprinkle over top of chicken mixture.
4. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes!

Beef Enchiladas

Make sure to follow directions carefully on this one. I often mix up the order of things, and this one has a lot of steps!
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Beef Enchiladas
yummy!!!!

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef (can substitute shredded chicken)
1 can (10 oz. enchilada sauce)
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 can condensed tomato soup
10 flour tortillas
2 c shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions:
1. Cook and drain beef.
2. Combine enchilada sauce and soups in a bowl.
3. Pour 1 cup enchilada sauce into greased 9x13 pan. Pour 1 cup enchilada sauce into beef.
4. Stir 1 c cheese into beef and sauce mixture.
5. Spoon 1/4 cup-fulls of beef mixture down center of tortilla shells.
6. Roll tightly and place in pan, seamside down.
7. Top with remaining sauce.
8. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.
6. Cover with rest of cheese and bake uncovered for 5-10 minutes.

*This is a good meal to freeze. Just make an extra batch and freeze before baking. Thaw and bake according to above instructions!

Calzones

These are messy to make, but they come out of the oven well if you do a pretty decent job of pinching those corners together. Whatever happens, the kids will probably eat it...so who cares what it looks like :)
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Calzones

Ingredients:
Refrigerated Pillsbury pizza dough
pizza sauce
pizza cheese
any pizza toppings you like (we just use pepperoni, sausage, and various cheeses)

Instructions:
1. Roll out dough onto cookie sheet and cut into six squares.
2. Add a couple spoonfulls of sauce to each and spread.
3. Add cheese
4. Add toppings
5. Fold corners of dough over toppings and pinch together. (Seal as well as you can.)
6. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Easy Chicken Pot Pie

So many recipes have "Easy" in the title...and then they're hard for me.

And then there are "30 minute meals" that take me an hour by the time it's all said and done.

I named this blog "Not a cook at heart" for a reason. When I come across meals and recipes that I can do myself without having to look up the meaning of words, I want to share with my friends who might be in the same predicament I am in.

I thought this recipe was one that I would be able to make with my eyes closed. I had made it numerous times, although it had been awhile. Well, I messed it up. And do you know what's worse than messing up a meal? Making an extra dish of something so you can freeze it for a later date...and then messing that one up, too. Frustration, stress...I am not a cook.

Hopefully, the steps I switched around and the spraying of the pan ("in an ungreased 9" pie pan...") won't mess up our dinner too much (and that of the pie in the freezer.) At least my family knows I'm trying :)

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Easy Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:
bag of frozen mixed vegetables THAWED (use as much as you would like)
1 cup cut-up cooked (boiled is best) chicken
1 can (10 3/4 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup Bisquick baking mix
1/2 cup milk
1 egg

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Mix vegetables, chicken, and soup in ungreased 9" pie pan.
3. Stir remaining ingredients with a fork until blended.
4. Pour into pie plate (on top of other ingredients.) Don't stir.
5. Bake 30 minutes or until golden brown.

EASY...as long as you follow directions ;)