mediterranean chicken pitas

so I have been doing some cooking around here, just nothing blog worthy. I did make these chicken pitas last night, which is one of my favorite meals. I got this one from my friend Gay.

Ingredients:

Chicken breast, cut into strips (I usually use 2)

creamy Mediterranean salad dressing (I use Goddess from Trader Joes, as recommended by Gay)

Wheat pitas

bell pepper (I prefer orange, red or yellow)

red onion

olive oil

oregano

feta cheese

hummus

avocado (optional, but is it really?)

directions:

1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2.marinate the chicken strips in the Mediterranean dressing (I usually do this for only an hour or so)

3. Cook chicken in a skillet. I pour all the dressing with it to cook in.

4. cut bell pepper and onion in strips and toss in olive oil and oregano. Lay on a foil lined baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes.

5. Assemble your pitas. I like to first spread hummus in pita, add chicken, then vegetables, and top with feta cheese and avocado.

side note: if you are thinking your kids won't eat this, i just gave Chase the chicken, pita bread, and made him some peas.

chocolate crock-pot cake

it's funny that laura posted the turkey meatball recipe. it's one of my favorites and i make it all the time. it comes from the "best-loved slow cooker recipes" book and it's great. i usually make it with mashed potatoes, but love it with egg noodles too. i made it last night since it's my favorite go-to crock-pot recipe. and i mentioned this in the comments of laura's post, but i always double the gravy. if not, there's definitely not enough.

so to go along with my crock-pot meatballs, i made cjane's chocolate crock-pot cake. it was really easy and (according to everyone else) really good. i just don't love chocolate cake, so as far as chocolate cake goes, it was good. ella just thought it was so weird that i made a cake in the crock-pot. we had it with whip cream and ice cream for double the fun.

here's the recipe:

1 package chocolate cake mix
1 container of sour cream (8 oz)
1 cup chocolate morsels
1 cup water
4 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil (i almost always substitute oil for applesauce in cakes, and so for this, since i hadn't made this before, i did half applesauce and half oil)
1 package instant chocolate pudding mix

spray crock pot with nonstick cooking spray.
mix cake mix, sour cream, chocolate morsels, water, egss, oil and pudding mix in a bowl by hand.
pour into crock pot. cover and cook on low 6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours.

crockpot meatballs

(I already cut my meatballs in half to cool before I realized I wanted to take a picture)

This is another one I got from Kelly (sorry to keep posting your recipes). I love this recipe for a few reasons. First, it requires the crockpot. This takes about 30 minutes prep time in the morning, and I don't know about you, but my mornings are always calmer than my evenings, so it is worth it to have dinner practically done by 10AM. Second, I love that it uses ground turkey. Such a healthier alternative, and by cooking it in the crockpot it stays tender and does not dry out, which is sometimes a problem substituting ground turkey.

Meatballs
1 lb ground turkey
combine with:

1 egg
less than 1/2 cup bread crumbs
onion flakes (just pour in desired amount. of course you could always use a chopped onion)
1 Tbs. parsley
1/4 tsp. poultry seasoning
1/8 tsp. black pepper
sprinkle garlic powder

Roll into 1 inch balls and brown in a skillet. Remember that you don't need to cook them through, you are just browning the sides so they will stay formed for the crockpot.

Sauce
Mix:
1 can cream of mushroom
1 cup water
1 package turkey gravy mix
1/8 tsp. thyme

the last few times I have made this, I didn't feel like I had enough sauce, so this time I doubled the sauce and was glad I did.

Pour sauce over meatballs and cook on low 6-8 hours. Serve over egg noodles or mashed potatoes.

mango chicken

this recipe is courtesy of Just Cook Already. it contains all of my favorite things: crockpot, easy and good.

15-20 frozen chicken tenders {in bag from costco they are quite small.} (I just use 2 chicken breasts) I have also used a pork roast, which tastes great as well.
2 cups mango salsa {costco kind with peach is the best.} (ralphs also carries a good mango/peach salsa - I just use the entire container)
2/3 cup brown sugar (I cut this down to 1/3 cup and it is still plenty sweet)
1 TBSP salt

Mix ingredients together and pour over chicken in crockpot. cook on low approx. 8 hours. Shred chicken. I serve in flour tortillas, with whatever toppings you like.

Brownie Trifle

I made this for dessert last night when we had a pre-valentines dinner with friends. I'd made it before and it's really good. I got it from According to Kelly.

1 big pkg. fudge brownie mix
2 big pkg. instant chocolate pudding mix (i used two small packages and it was fine)
8 heath bars, crushed or 2 bags of skor chips (i used less than one bag of heath chips)
1+ container whipped topping (i probably used close to two, one for each layer, but i don't have a trifle bowl, just a big glass bowl and i needed a lot to cover the surface.)
chocolate curls (optional)

prepare brownie mix, bake per directions in 9x13 inch pan. Let cool and then crumble. prepare pudding per the package directions, chilling for 5-10 minutes. place a layer of crumbled brownies in bottom of 3-quart trifle dish (or any bowl), top with a layer of the pudding, crushed candy bars and whipped topping. repeat layers, ending with the whipped topping. garnish with chocolate curls. chill 8 hours (or as long as you have).

according to kelly also suggests using pre-made brownie bites if you're short on time.

Classic Pot Roast with Mushrooms

So I made another roast tonight which had Wade lamenting: "not another roast!" But alas, he liked it and said it was better than my other ones. Yipee! I got the recipe from the Relish magazine that comes with the newspaper. It calls to cook the roast in a large dutch oven, but since I don't own one, I put it in the crock-pot and called it good.

This is what the article said about the recipe: "This pot roast melts in your mouth and has lots of sauce. Any mushrooms will work, but we like portabello and shiitake best. The recipe can be altered in a multitude of ways: adding chiles gives it a kick, adding more root veggies brings out a decidedly wintry character, and adding some bacon or smoked sausages adds depth of flavor."

3 lbs. chuck roast (about 2 inches thick)

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

3 T olive oil, divided

2 1/2 cups thinly sliced yellow or white onion (I did about 3/4 of an onion)

3/4 cup diced carrot (I did one carrot)

3/4 cup diced celery (I did one stalk of celery)

1 parsnip, peeled and diced (I omitted this)

8 garlic cloves, chopped (I used minced garlic, like 3 or 4 spoonfuls)

1 lb. shiitake or portabello mushrooms, sliced (I did 8 oz. of sliced mushrooms and 8 oz. of shiitake mushrooms)

1 tsp. chili powder

1 1/2 cups beef broth

8 oz. tomato sauce

1 1/2 cups red wine (I substituted chicken broth)

1 1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves

2 bay leaves

1 T. cornstarch

2 T. cold water

1. Preheat oven to 300 F. Tim beef of all visible fat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. (Again, I just did the crock-pot.)

2. Heat 2 T. oil in a large Dutch oven. Add beef and brown on all sides. Remove from pan. (I did this in a skillet.)

3. Add remaining 1 T. oil, onion, carrot, celery and parsnip to pan. Saute until lightly browned, about 8 minutes.

4. Add garlic, mushrooms, chili powder and cook 3 minutes.

I took the roasts out of the pan after they were browned and put them in the crock pot. Then I sauted all the ingredients from #3 and 4 in the skillet.

5. Return meat to pan, and add broth, tomato sauce, red wine, thyme and bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Place in oven adn cook 3 to 3 1/2 hours, until beef is fork tender. There will be lots of liquid.

I just put all that on top in the crock-pot and cooked 8 hours on low.

6. Dissolve constarch in cold water. Pour cornstartch mixture into pan, stirring constantly. Return to oven and cook 15 minutes or until sauce has thickened.

I did this about 30 minutes before I was going to serve.

It was really good. I took the roast out to shred and then returned to the crock-pot. I served with mashed potatoes and used a slotted spoon to get the meat and veggies out.

beef taquitos

I got this recipe from Kelly. It has been a favorite around here and a healthier alternative to traditional taquitos, since these are baked, not fried.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef (I have used ground turkey for this and I think it tastes great)

1 medium onion, chopped (I usually just use a bunch of dried onion flakes)

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup salsa (I usually do closer to 3/4 cup)

2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Tortillas

grated cheese

oil (I use EVOO, but you can use vegetable too)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Cook ground beef with onion and garlic. Drain fat.

3. Add salsa, chili powder, salt, and pepper. cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.

4. Microwave tortillas until warm and pliable (about 45 seconds)

5. Place meat in center of tortillas (about 1/4 cup in each), top with grated cheese, roll tortillas and place on foil lined baking sheet, seam side down. Brush taquitos with oil.

6. Bake 8 - 10 minutes, or until tortillas are lightly browned.

I served with some homemade quacamole.

triple cheese pesto pita pizzas

i've been on a cooking hiatus lately as chaos has overtaken my life. i did make spaghetti tonight, but nothing fancy enough to actually post a recipe about. but saturday i actually made something from my good old "Betty Crocker's New Cookbook" that i got for my wedding. it was super easy and pretty good. i should've cooked it for a few more minutes and i wouldn't have put quite as much of the cream cheese mixture on mine. i think i like less of a cream cheesiness. here it is:

1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

2 T. milk

6 whole wheat or white pita breads (6 in. in diameter)

6 T. pesto

1 can sliced ripe olives, drained

1 cup shredded mozzarella

2 T. grated parmesan cheese

2 T. chopped fresh parsley

Heat over to 425.

Mix cream cheese and milk until smooth. Since I was making 4 pita pizzas and two were going to be regular pizza sauce and cheese, I halved the cream cheese and milk. I mixed it with my hand mixer.

Place pita breads on ungreased large cookie sheets. Spread cream cheese mixture on pita breads to within 1/4 inch of edge. Carefully spread pesto over cream cheese. Top with olives. Sprinkle with cheeses and parsley. (Of course, I only had dried parsley.)

Bake 7 to 12 minutes or until thoroughly heated and cheese was melted.

Like I said, they were super easy and tasted good on the pita bread. So it's a quick easy way to make pizza with a pesto and cream cheese twist.

Crunchy Oven-Baked Chicken Toes

This is probably one of Matt's favorite meals. The good news is your kids will love it too. This is a Rachael Ray recipe that I got from a Parents magazine.

Ingredients:

1 cup cornflakes cereal, crushed

1 cup plain bread crumbs

2 Tbs. brown sugar

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/2 tsp. all spice

3 Tbs. vegetable oil

1/3 cup flour

2 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 lbs chicken-breast, cut into 20 pieces (I use 2-3 chicken breasts)

directions:

1. preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl combine crushed cornflakes, bread crumbs, brown sugar, salt, pepper and allspice.

2. drizzle the vegetable oil evenly over the mixture and mix well. In separate bowls place flour and beaten eggs.

3. dredge the chicken toes first in flour, then eggs, and then mixture.

4. place chicken on cookie sheet and bake until crisp and brown, about 15-20 minutes.

I served with sweet potato fries, courtesy of Trader Joes, and carrot sticks.

Taco Soup

So I am sure everyone knows this recipe, but I thought I would throw it out there anyway. Looking for something good, easy, with ingredients you likely have in food storage, then Taco Soup is your answer.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb ground beef

1 package taco seasoning

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can corn

1 can kidney beans

directions:

brown meat in skillet with taco seasoning. Put in pot and add cans (with liquids). Heat through. Serve with grated cheese, tortilla strips, and sour cream.

Lemon Cream Pasta with Chicken

This comes from My Kitchen Cafe.

3 cups shredded or cubed Lemon Garlic Chicken (see below)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
4 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth (I used chicken boullion)
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
1 (16 ounce) package tube pasta (I used whole grain penne)
2 cups heavy cream (I used half and half because I couldn't bring myself to buy heavy cream)
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded

DIRECTIONS
In a large saucepan, season the chicken broth with the garlic powder and pepper. Bring to a boil and add lemon juice and pasta. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until all liquid is absorbed, about 25 minutes.Stir chicken into cooked pasta, along with the cream, parmesan cheese and lemon zest. Cook, stirring, over low heat for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes. Stir thoroughly before serving.

The liquid in my pasta was not entirely absorbed after 25 minutes, but I decided to stop cooking so pasta did not get overcooked. I didn't drain it thinking it would be more flavorful to leave in the juices, but it did end up a little saucy...but this might also be because I used half and half and not heavy cream. Next time I might drain some of the liquid.

Lemon and Garlic Grilled Chicken

Juice of 1 lemon, approximately 3 tablespoons
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic, about 2 medium cloves
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano1
pound chicken breasts (I usually cut really thick chicken breasts down to thin them out and make the pieces a little smaller so they absorb the marinade better)

Combine all marinade ingredients. Place chicken in a ziploc bag and pour marinade over chicken. Seal bag and place in fridge overnight. Grill (or cook in frying pan). Serve with sides of your choice or cut into bite sized pieces and add to desired recipe (I'll be sharing a few with you soon). Note: If you cut your chicken into smaller, bite-sized pieces and then marinate it, you can get away with only letting it marinate for 5 or 6 hours instead of overnight.

I am sure the above way of cooking it tastes great, but I am lazy and hate cooking chicken (and didn't want to grill), and since I take any chance to use my crockpot, I did. I just put 2 chicken breasts in the crockpot in the morning, poured the marinade on top of it, let it cook about 6 hours and then shredded chicken and put it back in to absorb all of the marinade. It tasted great.

ham & cheese sliders

kelly tried this one first off of just cook already and recommended them to me. They were a good, quick and easy meal. Although I think I bought the wrong rolls. I just picked up some at the bakery that looked good, but I think they were too crusty and didn't absorb the sauce enough. Next time I will have to buy some softer rolls.

I cut this recipe in half (more like 1/3). Also, I didn't add miracle whip or poppyseeds, just because I didn't have them and didn't want to buy them. still tasted good.

24 good white rolls
24 pieces good honey ham
24 small slices swiss cheese
1/3 mayo
1/3 cup miracle whip
{poppy seed sauce}
1 1/2 TBSP poppy seeds
1 1/2 TBSP yellow mustard
1 stick butter, melted
1 TBSP minced onion
1/2 tsp. worschestershire sauce

in a small bowl, mix together mayo & miracle whip. spread into both sides of the center of each roll. place a slice of ham & a slice of swiss inside of each roll. close rolls & place into a large baking dish or heavy cookie sheet. place very close together.

in a medium bowl, whisk together all of the poppy seed sauce ingredients. pour evenly over all of the sandwiches. let sit 10 minutes, or until butter sets slightly. cover with foil & bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes or until cheese is melted. uncover & cook for 2 additional minutes. serve warm

Potato, Broccoli and Cheese Soup

This recipe is super easy and my kids (minus Drew again) love it. Wade force fed Drew a bite and he cried the whole time. Maybe someday he'll eat dinner if it's not spaghetti. I got this one from All Recipes.com and I've made it bunches of times.

2 cups chopped onion (I usually use minced onion and just use however much I feel like)

2 T. margarine

2 1/2 lbs. potatoes peeled and cubed

5 cups boiling water

4 chicken bouillion cubes

3 cups fresh broccoli

salt and pepper to taste

3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

In a large stock pot, saute onion in butter. Add potatoes, broccoli, water and bouillion cubes. Cover, bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium and cook until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. (When I made this tonight, I didn't cover it. I guess I forgot. I just boiled it until the potatoes were done.)

In a blender, puree half of the soup and return to stock pot. Season with salt and pepper.

Add cheese and heat soup through until cheese is melted. Serve warm.

I usually add some sour cream too since this recipe doesn't call for any milk. I just like making it a little creamy. You could probably add some milk too instead of water. And sometimes if I'm making it for more people, I just add more water and bouillion cubes.

mandarin chicken

I too hadn't been to the store yet, so this is another recipe with most ingredients on hand. This is the second time I made this, and for some reason I feel like I liked it better the first time. Matt really liked it both times, and Chase ate it. This is also from Just Cook Already.

4 chicken breast halves, skinned and boned
Vegetable cooking spray
2 tsp. vegetable oil
1 (11 oz.) can unsweetened mandarin oranges
2 tbsp. brown sugar, firmly packed
1 tsp. prepared mustard
3 tbsp. ketchup
1 tbsp. vinegar
1 tsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. each ground cinnamon and ginger
1/8 tsp. ground cloves

Trim excess fat from chicken; then wash and pat dry. Coat large skillet with cooking spray. Put on medium high heat until skillet is hot and add vegetable oil.
Add chicken and lightly brown on both sides. Drain mandarin oranges, reserving juice. Set oranges aside. Combine juice with remaining ingredients and pour over chicken in skillet. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Add reserved oranges and simmer an additional 5 minutes, or until chicken is tender. Serve with plain white rice or chinese noodles.

Both times I served with noodles, although if I make again I think I will do rice - even though Matt said he loved the noodles.

Easy Chicken Bake

So I'm trying to hold out on going to the grocery store until Thursday when it's my kids' school PTA day, so tonight it was Easy Chicken Bake from Just Cook Already. It was a similar idea to the Parmesan Chicken that I made last week. Easy, moist and really good. Everyone liked it, except Drew who wouldn't even sit at the table and later fell asleep naked in his room post-bath. Here's the easy recipe:

(From “Lion House Recipes” cookbook)

Salt

Garlic salt

Paprika

1 fryer, cut up or 6 good-sized pieces of chicken (I used 4 chicken breasts.)

1 (10 ½ oz.) can cream of mushroom soup

1 cup cream or ¾ cup evaporated milk (I used milk because that's all I had.)

Chopped parsley

Mix* salt, garlic salt, and paprika. Thoroughly rub mixture into chicken pieces. Spread chicken in one layer in a shallow baking dish or pan. Dilute the soup with cream and pour over the chicken; sprinkle with parsley. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 1 ½ hours. Makes 6 servings.

*(I sprinkle the seasonings right onto the chicken and then rub it in, instead of mixing the seasonings first.)

I served this over white rice and used some of the "gravy" on top of the white rice.