I love this recipe. I modified it a bit from my friend Krissy's recipe. It is so warm and hearty on a cold night or really any time of the year :) I love to pair this with a spring mix salad with tomatoes, swiss cheese, roasted almond slices, and mushrooms. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. This dish is also really easy to freeze in individual servings for a quick meal when you are too tired to cook :)
Chicken Pot Pie
You will need:
3 chicken breasts (boneless)
2 cans of mixed vegetables (drained)...I use the value brand at Kroger but Vegi-All is the name brand
1 small can of sliced mushrooms and stems (drained)
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup (I usually use the Healthy Choice by Campbell's)
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup (Healthy Choice by Campbell's)
garlic powder
onion powder
Tony Chacheres season
Black Pepper
Chopped Dried Onion spice
Ground Red Cayenne Pepper
Sea Salt
Bread Topping:
1 stick of butter
1 cup or so of milk
Flour--add until it is thicker but not as thick as say pancake mixture
First, cut the fat off of the chicken and discard. Then cut the chicken breasts in half or in thirds. Fill a medium to large pot about 1/3 full of water and put raw chicken in and bring to a boil. Add a few dashes of sea salt to the water to help season your chicken if you'd like. You might want to turn the temperature down a bit when it begins to boil because the chicken has a tendancy to boil over and makes a mess. Boil the chicken for about 30 minutes or until there is no more pink.
After chicken is done, Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Pull the chicken out of the water and place in a mixing bowl that you can use a fork in (scratch less, glass, or stainless steel). While the chicken is cooling a bit, drain your cans of mixed veggies and mushrooms. Using a fork and shred the chicken. You can do this without burning yourself by using a fork to shred and another utencil to hold it in place. You can decide how chunky you want your chicken to be. I like mine pretty shredded.
After you have shredded your chicken, in the same bowl, add your drained veggies and mushrooms, add your cans of soup, and dash in all of your seasonings to your liking. Once again, be careful with your salt and especially with your black pepper because I have overdone the pepper before and it was pretty much un-edible :( Just remember that you can always add more later. Mix everything together well. Get a 9" X 13" pyrex glass baking dish and spray it with nonstick cooking spray. Scoop the chicken mixture into the dish and spread evenly.
In a seperate microwavable mixing bowl, melt the unwrapped stick of butter in the microwave until it is liquid...about 30-40 seconds. Take the butter out of microwave and add flour slowly and milk and whisk until you have a semi-thick batter. Thicker than milk but thinner than pancake or waffle mix. Pour this mixture over the top of your chicken mixture in the dish and bake in the oven for 40-60 minutes uncovered. I like mine to have a golden brown top. When you pull it out of the oven it will be so hot so let it sit for a minute. This is a great time to make your salad. After you have the salad ready, serve your yummy meal. It makes about 6-8 servings. I hope you enjoy it!
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Sunday, January 16, 2011
The Doctor said Flu not Food
So I went to the doctor yesterday morning because I was feeling AWFUL! I couldn't keep anything down and was extremely dehydrated because of it. Long story short, I ended up being diagnosed with a stomach virus and after a shot and prescription to get filled I was on my way to the pharmacy. The doctor told me that I could not eat until tomorrow after lunch and in the meantime I needed to drink 1/2 water 1/2 gatorade mixture. Wow! Me, not eat!? But I do what I am told when I feel that bad. My diet yesterday existed only of prescription nausea medicine and watered down gatorade. Times like this make me feel very thankful that I have the blessing of food whenever I need it. Today I am still on my diet of watered down gatorade and now I am up to crackers :) Had some chicken and stars soup earlier, but just ate the broth. I have been watching food network all day and it makes me want to cook so bad and eat all of the delicious food they are making! Of course, they are showing a ton of mexican type food and I am loving all of it. AH, I can't wait to get back to normal and get back into the kitchen. Many new recipes to come as soon as I get better! :)
Sloppy Sloppy Joes
I love this recipe because it is fast and hearty. It is great on a cold day for dinner or even for a big lunch. You will have enough for left overs if you have 2 people eating but it is enough for 4 people for one meal. Hope you enjoy!
Sloppy Sloppy Joe's
You will need:
1 lb (or more) ground beef...my grocery store uses 1.25lb or so servings and that is what I use
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
Diced Jalapenos
2 tbsp pickle juice
1/3 onion chopped
Hamburger Buns
Brown the ground beef until no pink is left. Drain the beef of any grease and I prefer to rinse it with water in a strainer to get the most grease off possible. Put the beef back into a saute pan and add your bbq sauce, kethcup, jalapenos (as many or as little as you prefer...I usually put about 4 tbsp), pickle juice, and onion. Season with dashes of onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, Tony Chacheres, and Ground Red Pepper. Stir together and let simmer covered for 20 or so minutes, stir occasionally.
When the mixture is cooked through turn off heat and let stand for about 5 minutes, then serve on hamburger buns.
Suggested Side Dishes:
chips (super easy)
macaroni and cheese
cole slaw
french fries (I use the waffle cut frozen ones)
Sloppy Sloppy Joe's
You will need:
1 lb (or more) ground beef...my grocery store uses 1.25lb or so servings and that is what I use
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
Diced Jalapenos
2 tbsp pickle juice
1/3 onion chopped
Hamburger Buns
Brown the ground beef until no pink is left. Drain the beef of any grease and I prefer to rinse it with water in a strainer to get the most grease off possible. Put the beef back into a saute pan and add your bbq sauce, kethcup, jalapenos (as many or as little as you prefer...I usually put about 4 tbsp), pickle juice, and onion. Season with dashes of onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, Tony Chacheres, and Ground Red Pepper. Stir together and let simmer covered for 20 or so minutes, stir occasionally.
When the mixture is cooked through turn off heat and let stand for about 5 minutes, then serve on hamburger buns.
Suggested Side Dishes:
chips (super easy)
macaroni and cheese
cole slaw
french fries (I use the waffle cut frozen ones)
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Verde Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas
Verde Chicken Enchiladas
What you will need:
1 package of chicken breasts (about 3-4 breasts)...I buy these when they are on sale and just keep them in the freezer.
1 8 oz block of Colby/Jack Cheese (it is yellow and white marbled)
1 medium Onion sliced thin (I used yellow onion)
1 large green Bell Pepper chopped; you can also use red and yellow bell peppers for a little different taste and color
4 10oz cans of Green/Verde Enchilada Sauce
3 heaping tbsp Sour Creme
4 tbsp Lime Juice
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tspOnion Powder
1/4 tspGround Black Pepper
1/4 tsp or less of Ground Ancho Chile Pepper...it can really make it hot so be careful if you don't like spicy
1 to 1 1/2 tsp Ground Cumin...I love cumin so I used more
1 tsp Tony Chacheres Creole Seasoning
Sea Salt (only a few dashes to your taste)
7 Corn Tortillas
5-6 Flour (fajita sized) Tortillas
2 casserole dishes (I use 7x11 and 8x8) using the long skinny one for the corn tortilla enchiladas and the square one for flour enchiladas)
First, cut the fat off the chicken breasts and discard. Then cut the chicken breasts in half and put into a pot of water on the stove. Boil the chicken breasts for 30-45 minutes, until cooked through so no pink is visible. Be sure to watch the chicken occasionally because mine always has a tendency to boil over once it gets going so I like to turn it down to medium heat, while keeping it boiling, to avoid messes.
While chicken is cooking, cut up the bell pepper and onion and put into a large mixing bowl. Add the lime juice and all the spices and just let it sit.
Now is a great time to shred your cheese. You can use the whole block or if you are not a huge cheese lover, just use about half. Set the cheese aside for later.
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
When chicken is done, you can set it on a cutting board and cut it into very small pieces, so it almost appears to be shredded. You may also shred it if you prefer. I have done both ways.
Put your cut/shredded chicken into the mixing bowl with your bell pepper, onion, etc and add one can of the Green Enchilada sauce and your sour creme. Mix it all together so the spices and sauce mix through.
Lightly spray your casserole dishes with cooking spray and pour enough Verde sauce in the bottom of each to cover it but not a swimming pool of it. I use 1 can to cover the two dishes together.
Place your corn tortillas in a stack on a plate and put in the microwave with a damp paper towel covering them and cook for about 15 seconds and then flip the stack and cook for 15 more seconds, just enough to make them flexible.
Hold a tortilla in your hand (be careful sometimes they are hot) and spread about 3 heaping spoonfuls of the chicken & veggie mixture over the length of the tortilla in the center.
Roll the tortilla with your hands to touch together both sides and then place it in the dish with the seam side down.
Repeat this process by placing them right next to eachother until you have covered the entire length of the dish. Depending on how much mixture you use you may need less or more tortillas. **The corn tortillas are very flimsy and have a tendency to tear...don't worry, just get them in the dish in a cylinder form and you are good to go. If you have a tear, you can patch them with an extra piece of tortilla if you wish and cover it in verde sauce as usual.
Cover the entire top of the enchilada rolls with verde sauce but again, and you can drown them if you like. I like them to stay moist so I tend to have a heavy hand and use one Can of Enchilada Sauce on top of each dish.
Cover the Enchilada sauce with the Colby Jack Cheese...more if you love cheese, less if you don't. I love cheese so I use the entire block between both dishes.
Repeat the same process with the flour tortillas in the other dish as you did with the corn tortillas. The flour tortillas are more durible so I usually find myself putting more mixture in them and because of that end up using less flour tortillas.
Place both of the dishes side by side in the middle of the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until the cheese is bubbly.
Let stand for a bit as these will be extremely hot.
Enjoy!
I suggest serving these with a side of black beans and rice. I use the Vigo brand package because it is super easy to make and takes about the same amount of time to cook as the enchiladas do while in the oven. They are also great with a side of diced avocado topped with lime juice, sea salt, and black pepper. Yellow corn also makes a great side for this dish.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Pizza Bites
This is one of my favorite snacks. I make these OFTEN! Everyone always loves them and have asked me for the recipe and are shocked at how simple these little guys are to make. My oldest sister first introduced me to this concept in her college dorm room where she made similiar bites in her microwave. Hope you enjoy!
Pizza Bites
You will need:
Crackers ( I prefer Rosemary and Olive Oil Triscuits or just cut a loaf of Italian Bread into slices, or any other kind of cracker works too)
Pizza Cheese Shredded Blend or any kind of cheese shredded or cut into thin 1 inch square slices
Pepperoni's
Marinara Sauce or Pizza Sauce, you can even use spaghetti sauce
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees
Put aluminum foil on a baking sheet (this helps with easy cleanup)
Place crackers in a row close to eachother
Put about 2 tsp of sauce on each cracker, just dollop it on, no need to spread
Sprinkle cheese over the tops of the sauce, this is why you should put them close so you don't waste cheese :)
Place one pepperoni on top of each cracker or you can just do cheese
Place in Oven on Middle Rack for 10-12 minutes.
Let stand as the cheese and sauce will be very hot..and burn your mouth bad if you don't.
Other Suggested Toppings:
sliced black olives
chopped bell pepper
sliced mushrooms
ham and a slice of pineapple
Pizza Bites
You will need:
Crackers ( I prefer Rosemary and Olive Oil Triscuits or just cut a loaf of Italian Bread into slices, or any other kind of cracker works too)
Pizza Cheese Shredded Blend or any kind of cheese shredded or cut into thin 1 inch square slices
Pepperoni's
Marinara Sauce or Pizza Sauce, you can even use spaghetti sauce
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees
Put aluminum foil on a baking sheet (this helps with easy cleanup)
Place crackers in a row close to eachother
Put about 2 tsp of sauce on each cracker, just dollop it on, no need to spread
Sprinkle cheese over the tops of the sauce, this is why you should put them close so you don't waste cheese :)
Place one pepperoni on top of each cracker or you can just do cheese
Place in Oven on Middle Rack for 10-12 minutes.
Let stand as the cheese and sauce will be very hot..and burn your mouth bad if you don't.
Other Suggested Toppings:
sliced black olives
chopped bell pepper
sliced mushrooms
ham and a slice of pineapple
4th of July Idea
Yes, I know the 4th of July is like half a year away, however, I had to post this so I don't forget this great idea!
I was just making J and I a little afternoon snack of my pizza bites (recipe to follow) and on the pan they look almost like an American Flag! So cool! So my idea is that I will make them again for a 4th of July party and line a platter with one like of Pepperoni Pizza Bites and then follow it with a row of Cheese Pizza Bites and then repeat it until I have the correct amount of stripes for my "flag"...thus creating a white and red stripe pattern. In the upper left corner where the blue with the white stars is on the flag, I will do Blue Corn Tortilla Chips with White dollops of cheese or maybe a white dip! Oh my goodness, I can't wait to make this! This would also be great to make for Veteran's Day or Flag Day!
I was just making J and I a little afternoon snack of my pizza bites (recipe to follow) and on the pan they look almost like an American Flag! So cool! So my idea is that I will make them again for a 4th of July party and line a platter with one like of Pepperoni Pizza Bites and then follow it with a row of Cheese Pizza Bites and then repeat it until I have the correct amount of stripes for my "flag"...thus creating a white and red stripe pattern. In the upper left corner where the blue with the white stars is on the flag, I will do Blue Corn Tortilla Chips with White dollops of cheese or maybe a white dip! Oh my goodness, I can't wait to make this! This would also be great to make for Veteran's Day or Flag Day!
The Best Chili I have Ever Made!
This was the best chili I have ever made! It is delicious! I hope you enjoy!
Chili
Ingredients:
2 lbs ground deer meat (you can use ground meet, I just had some deer meet to use up) cooked and drained
1 whole onion, sliced
1 whole green bell pepper, sliced
1 whole tomato, chopped chunky
1 can tomato paste (small can)
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can sliced stewed tomatoes
1 big can whole tomatos
1 soup sized can tomato sauce
1 can black beans
1 can red kidney beans
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Tony Chacheres creole seasoning
Black Pepper
Thyme
Chili-O (less salt one) seasoning packet
In a large pot, combine all of the above ingredients. With the Chili-O, use the whole packet. With the other seasonings, I usually just do several dashes and go with it. Be careful with the thyme and black pepper not to put more than probably 3 dashes. Cook it at medium heat until it boils and then put it back down to simmer for about an hour or more. Be sure to stir often so it doesn't stick to bottom of pot.
Serve with:
diced fresh onion
extra sharp shredded cheese
no heat jalapenos slices (they come in a jar) or regular jalapeno slices
a dolup of sour cream
Enjoy!
**Be sure that if you haven't eaten all of it by about 2-3 days, put it in a freezer ziploc bag and freeze it in individual servings for a quick dinner on one of those days you don't feel like cooking :)
Chili
Ingredients:
2 lbs ground deer meat (you can use ground meet, I just had some deer meet to use up) cooked and drained
1 whole onion, sliced
1 whole green bell pepper, sliced
1 whole tomato, chopped chunky
1 can tomato paste (small can)
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can sliced stewed tomatoes
1 big can whole tomatos
1 soup sized can tomato sauce
1 can black beans
1 can red kidney beans
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Tony Chacheres creole seasoning
Black Pepper
Thyme
Chili-O (less salt one) seasoning packet
In a large pot, combine all of the above ingredients. With the Chili-O, use the whole packet. With the other seasonings, I usually just do several dashes and go with it. Be careful with the thyme and black pepper not to put more than probably 3 dashes. Cook it at medium heat until it boils and then put it back down to simmer for about an hour or more. Be sure to stir often so it doesn't stick to bottom of pot.
Serve with:
diced fresh onion
extra sharp shredded cheese
no heat jalapenos slices (they come in a jar) or regular jalapeno slices
a dolup of sour cream
Enjoy!
**Be sure that if you haven't eaten all of it by about 2-3 days, put it in a freezer ziploc bag and freeze it in individual servings for a quick dinner on one of those days you don't feel like cooking :)
Sushi...my simple way
I am in no way a sushi chef but one day I figured, hey, how hard can it really be? Well...it is not as hard as it seems but it is definitely not the easiest thing to make since the rice is really sticky. It is so worth it though because it is fun to make and really, who makes their own sushi! You will impress you guests to no end when you make this simple dish. I hope you enjoy it!
Tuna Sushi
What you need:
rice...sushi rice works best but I use regular white rice and overcook it for it to be super sticky...then let it cool
bamboo rolling mat
fresh sushi grade Tuna
wasabi
neufchatel cheese (cream cheese, just the less fat one)
avocado
soy sauce
seaweed**
**I totally forgot this the other night when I made sushi! and didn't even think about it until 2 days later! but the sushi was still great just a little more crumbly so if you don't like it, now I know you can leave it out :)
cook the rice more than you normally would and then spread out in a dish and put in the refridgerator to cool for about an hour...then after it is completely cooled do the below steps
slice the avocado in half and then extract and discard the seed; slice diagonally in about 1 cm slices; with a spoon go around the the edge of the inside of each half of avocado and place on a plate
slice the cheese in long strips same size as avocado
slice your fish into the same size strips as the avocado...use a very sharp knife
put your bamboo mat on a clean surface...I like to use a cutting board for easy clean up
with a spatula type spoon, spread the rice onto the a piece of seaweed and press together and down to make sure it will hold. You will want to thinly cover the entire piece of seaweed.
flip the rice/seawead combo over with the rice side down and place on the bamboo mat.
add toppings to the seawead in a long row about maybe 1/4 into the seaweed
place strips of cream cheese length wise in a row to cover from end to end
place avocado strips the same as the cream cheese on top or right next to it
place strips of fish on top of the cream cheese and avocado
roll your mat over itself to encase your filling in rice
roll your mat and squeeze back to creat a cylinder and keep doing so until you are at the end of your mat and then take roll out of mat and place on cutting board; set mat aside
with sharp knife cut your sushi roll into about 1 inch think slices
place on your desired platter or plate (I prefer a platter as presentation is key for me)
serve with soy sauce and wasabi; don't have chopsticks? no worries, just use your hands...or a fork :)
Tuna Sushi
What you need:
rice...sushi rice works best but I use regular white rice and overcook it for it to be super sticky...then let it cool
bamboo rolling mat
fresh sushi grade Tuna
wasabi
neufchatel cheese (cream cheese, just the less fat one)
avocado
soy sauce
seaweed**
**I totally forgot this the other night when I made sushi! and didn't even think about it until 2 days later! but the sushi was still great just a little more crumbly so if you don't like it, now I know you can leave it out :)
cook the rice more than you normally would and then spread out in a dish and put in the refridgerator to cool for about an hour...then after it is completely cooled do the below steps
slice the avocado in half and then extract and discard the seed; slice diagonally in about 1 cm slices; with a spoon go around the the edge of the inside of each half of avocado and place on a plate
slice the cheese in long strips same size as avocado
slice your fish into the same size strips as the avocado...use a very sharp knife
put your bamboo mat on a clean surface...I like to use a cutting board for easy clean up
with a spatula type spoon, spread the rice onto the a piece of seaweed and press together and down to make sure it will hold. You will want to thinly cover the entire piece of seaweed.
flip the rice/seawead combo over with the rice side down and place on the bamboo mat.
add toppings to the seawead in a long row about maybe 1/4 into the seaweed
place strips of cream cheese length wise in a row to cover from end to end
place avocado strips the same as the cream cheese on top or right next to it
place strips of fish on top of the cream cheese and avocado
roll your mat over itself to encase your filling in rice
roll your mat and squeeze back to creat a cylinder and keep doing so until you are at the end of your mat and then take roll out of mat and place on cutting board; set mat aside
with sharp knife cut your sushi roll into about 1 inch think slices
place on your desired platter or plate (I prefer a platter as presentation is key for me)
serve with soy sauce and wasabi; don't have chopsticks? no worries, just use your hands...or a fork :)
New Year...New Goals
Hi! Welcome to my recipe and other randomness blog. Let me tell you a bit about myself. I'm a girl who absolutely loves to cook, really I even just love being in the kitchen, and I love to experiment with different foods. I also love to have people over to dinner so many of my recipes reflect that. I often find myself not using recipes for the things that I make so I constantly forget exactly how I made something. That is where my blog comes in. I have decided to make it my mission to record on my blog what I cook and how I cooked it along with all of the tasty ingredients I used. This way when I absolutely love what I cooked, I can then go back and remind myself of what I did and what all I used. I have a habit of just shaking a little bit of this and adding a little bit of that into things and then can never recall exactly what I did. I am so excited to be able to reference back on here so I can make things again and again. I am also really excited to share my recipes with others. My friends and I are constantly asking each other for recipes and ideas so now they will have instant access to some of my favorite treats.
I have been told by several people that I should blog about my cooking adventures...and for that I am thankful for the encouragement; thank you to everyone who I cook for and who loves my food :) and thank you to my parents and middle sister for teaching me the way around the kitchen and bearing with me through all of my crazy cooking ideas as a child and for being there when I call from the grocery store asking for suggestions and advice.
A little more about me...hmmm...
I love love love making casseroles. Hence the "throwitinadishandbakeit" name. I love to experiment with food. I hardly ever use recipes...I mostly make them up myself or adapt from cookbooks or cooking shows. I often times will just look at a picture of something and get inspired to make my own version of what I think it is. I do hope you enjoy reading and using my blog as much as I am sure I will enjoy writing it. Bear with me though, as I have a huge tendency to be all over the place (as I am sure you have seen already from my writing style) and really random. Well, lots of recipes to come soon. Now I am off to make some lunch! Happy New Year!
I have been told by several people that I should blog about my cooking adventures...and for that I am thankful for the encouragement; thank you to everyone who I cook for and who loves my food :) and thank you to my parents and middle sister for teaching me the way around the kitchen and bearing with me through all of my crazy cooking ideas as a child and for being there when I call from the grocery store asking for suggestions and advice.
A little more about me...hmmm...
I love love love making casseroles. Hence the "throwitinadishandbakeit" name. I love to experiment with food. I hardly ever use recipes...I mostly make them up myself or adapt from cookbooks or cooking shows. I often times will just look at a picture of something and get inspired to make my own version of what I think it is. I do hope you enjoy reading and using my blog as much as I am sure I will enjoy writing it. Bear with me though, as I have a huge tendency to be all over the place (as I am sure you have seen already from my writing style) and really random. Well, lots of recipes to come soon. Now I am off to make some lunch! Happy New Year!
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