Fast & Healthy Chicken Recipes

Tropical Lime Chicken

Ingredients:

• SALSA:
• 1/2 cup pineapple tidbits
• 1 medium kiwifruit, peeled and chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped sweet red pepper
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• CHICKEN:
• 3 tablespoons plus 1-1/2 teaspoons lime juice
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 teaspoon grated lime peel
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (4 ounces each)
• 1 cup uncooked couscous

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine the salsa ingredients; cover and refrigerate until serving.
In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the lime juice, oil, lime peel, salt and pepper; add chicken. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 2-4 hours.
Drain and discard marinade. Place chicken on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Broil 3 in. from the heat for 5-6 minutes on each side or until juices run clear. Meanwhile, cook couscous according to package directions. Serve with chicken and salsa. Yield: 4 servings (1 cup salsa)

Baked Mushroom Chicken

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 pound)
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons butter, divided
• 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup sliced green onions

Directions:

Flatten each chicken breast half to 1/4-in. thickness. Place flour in a resealable plastic bag; add chicken, a few pieces at a time. Seal and shake to coat.
In a large skillet, brown chicken in 2 tablespoons butter on both sides. Transfer to a greased 11-in. x 7-in. baking dish. In the same skillet, saute mushrooms in the remaining butter until tender. Add the broth, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil; cook for 5 minutes or until liquid is reduced to 1/2 cup. Spoon over chicken.
Bake, uncovered, at 375° for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with cheeses and green onions. Bake 5 minutes longer or until the chicken juices run clear. Yield: 4 servings.

Garlic Chicken

INGREDIENTS

• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided
  
• 1-1/2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemaryor .4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
  
• 1-1/2 teaspoons rubbed sage
  
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
  
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1-1/2 pounds)
  
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  
• 20 garlic cloves, halved lengthwise
  
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
  
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  
• 1/4 cup white wine or reduced-sodium chicken broth
  
• 1-1/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
  
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
  
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

• DIRECTIONS

  In a large resealable plastic bag, combine 2 tablespoons flour, rosemary, sage, salt and pepper; add chicken. Seal bag and shake to coat. In a large nonstick skillet, brown chicken in 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat for 4 minutes on each side. Transfer to an 8-in. square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, at 325° for 15 minutes.
  Meanwhile, in the same skillet, saute the garlic, onion and red pepper flakes in remaining oil until onion is tender and garlic begins to brown, about 3 minutes. Stir in wine or broth; bring to a boil. Boil until wine is reduced by half, about 2-3 minutes.
  Stir in chicken broth; bring to a boil. Boil until broth is reduced by half, about 7-8 minutes. Remove from the heat.
  Combine butter and remaining flour; whisk into skillet. Return to heat. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until sauce thickens. Serve warm over chicken breasts. Sprinkle with parsley. Yield: 4 servings.

  
  

  
  

Slower Cooker Beefy French Onion Soup

Chaz really liked this one- might be too hot/hearty for summer though

Serving Size : 8

7 small onions, cut in half and thinly sliced (7 cups)
2 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs butter or margarine, melted
2 dried bay leaves
1 1/2 lbs beef stew meat
1 cup apple juice
3 cans (10 1/2 ounces each) condensed beef consommé
1/4 cup dry sherry
8 slices (1/2 inch thick) French bread, toasted
1/4 tsp dried thyme leaves
2 cups shredded Swiss cheese (8 ounces)

Prep Day: Chop onions, place in freezer bag. Keep separate from meat.
Prepare dry ingredients. Freeze meat and onions.

Serving Day: Thaw onions and meat. Toss onions, butter and sugar in 5- to
6-quart slow cooker. Top with bay leaves and beef. Cover and cook on Low heat setting
9 to 10 hours or until onions are deep brown. Stir in beef consommé, sherry, apple
juice and thyme. Increase heat setting to High. Cover and cook 10 minutes or until hot.
Remove bay leaves.

To Serve, spoon into ovenproof soup bowls and top each serving with slice
of toast and cheese. If desired, broil with tops 6 inches from heat 3 to 5
minutes or until cheese is bubbly and begins to brown.

Amazing Pork Tenderloin

This was a new one we tried last month- very good and couldn't be easier!

Serving Size : 6

1 (2 pound) pork tenderloin
1 (1 ounce) envelope dry onion soup mix
1 cup water
3/4 cup red wine
3 Tbs minced garlic
3 Tbs soy sauce
freshly ground black pepper to taste

1. Cooking Day: Mix all wet and dry marinade ingriedents, exept for pork.
Pour into a storage container. Package pork to be frozen. Then freeze pork &
marinade.

3. Serving Day: Thaw pork & marniade. Place pork tenderloin in a slow cooker
and pour the contents of the marinade bag over the top. Cook on low setting for 4
hours. Serve with cooking liquid on the side as au jus.

Handmade Tortillas

So I finally tried my hand at tortilla making. It was actually rather fun! They turned out well, much to my surprise. The recipe is easy, but it was a little messy and time-consuming to roll out each one and cook them up. I used a LOT of flour to keep them from sticking, and found the trick was to keep them very thin.

INGREDIENTS:
* 2 cups flour
* 1 tsp. salt
* 1/2 stick butter, softened
* 3/4 cups water

DIRECTIONS:
Mix all ingredients. Form into golf ball size balls. Roll out flat into a circle. Cook on each side in a dry non-stick pan until starting to brown.

I think this made about 13 tortillas?

Rav'n Ravioli

Adapted from Pampered Chef and found on Supper Swappers.

INGREDIENTS:
1 medium green bell pepper
1/2 C onion, chopped
1 tsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 jar (26-28 ounces) spaghetti sauce
1 1/4 C water
12 French bread baguette slices
1/4 C butter, melted
1 C mozzarella cheese
1/4 C fresh grated Parmesan cheese
18 ounces refrigerated ravioli (* I used frozen)

COOKING DAY:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Chop bell pepper and onion. Heat olive oil
over medium-high heat; add pepper, onion, and garlic. Cook 2-3 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Stir in spaghetti sauce, ravioli and water. Bring to a boil.
Spoon half of the ravioli mixture into 9 inch pie plate or similar sized baking dish. Top with mozzarella cheese and remaining ravioli mixture.

SERVING DAY:
Thaw ravioli mixture.
Bake 20 minutes. Meanwhile, melt butter and add bread slices, tossing to coat evenly.
After 20 minutes of baking, arrange bread slices around edge of baking dish, pressed slightly into ravioli mixture. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over bread and ravioli mixture. Bake 15-20 minutes or until ravioli is heated through and bread is crisp and deep golden brown.

Serves: 6

Mexican Style Shredded Pork

I found an AMAZING deal on pork, and bought a 10 lb roast that had to be dealt with. This recipe was a good one. The chipotle flavor was excellent. I've had success with freezing rice before, but this rice came out mushy. Next time I'll just freeze the pork and cook the rice up the day of.


NOTE: I don't care for the lime juice in the rice. Also, if you have a hard time finding the chipotle sauce - look in the BBQ sauce section. :)

INGREDIENTS:
1 (3 pound) boneless pork loin roast, cut into 2 inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 (4 ounce) cans diced green chile peppers
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup chipotle sauce
3 1/4 cups water, divided
1 1/2 cups uncooked long grain white rice
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

DIRECTIONS:
Place the roast in a slow cooker, and season with salt. Place chile peppers and garlic on top of roast. Pour in the chipotle sauce and 1/2 cup water.
Cover, and cook 7 hours on Low.

In a pot, bring remaining 2 3/4 cups water and rice to a boil. Mix in the lime juice and cilantro. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes.

Remove roast from the slow cooker, and use two forks to shred. Return pork to the slow cooker, and allow to sit 15 minutes to absorb some of the liquid. Serve over the cooked rice.

Serves: 6

April OAMC Plan

I started running out of meal selection, so whipped together a few more recipes for the freezer. As we try the new recipes, I'll post links to the good ones for ya.

Here's what we made:

* 2 Rav'n Ravioli *new*
* 2 Crockpot Jambalaya
* 2 Quick Chicken Curry
* 1 Impossibly Easy Italian Chicken Pie *new*
* 2 Mexican Style Shredded Pork *new*

Apple-Raisin Oven Pancake

I got a couple free recipe books in the mail, and tried out this oven pancake recipe for breakfast. It was very yummy! Doug thought it would be even better with a cream sauce of some kind. Maybe I'll try this one from Paula Deen? :)

INGREDIENTS:
1 apple, cored, peeled and sliced
1/3 c. raisins
2 tbsp brown sugar, packed
1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 eggs
2/3 c. milk
2/3 c. flour
2 tbsp butter, melted
Powered sugar

DIRECTIONS:
1. Combine apples, raisins, brown sugar and cinnamon. Put into a greased 9 inch pie plate.

2. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside. Increase oven temp to 450 degrees.

3. Meanwhile, whisk together eggs, milk, flour and butter. Pour over apple mixture. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden. Pancake will puff up and fall slightly when removed from oven.

4. Sprinkle with powered sugar and slice into wedges. Serve warm.

Servings: 6

Granola Bars

I've been wanting to try to make my own granola bars for a while now. Doug loves the Nature Valley Trail Mix bars, and takes one to work each day. My goal was to copy them, and I found a great recipe online, and have copied it below. (You should really check out the link, however, as the step-by-step photos are great.) Minus the almonds, these are nearly identical! And he said they even taste more "natural." One more thing - I found that the waxed paper stuck like glue to the bars, even with nonstick spray. I think next time I will just spray the glass pan and use wax paper just to press down on the bars and then remove it while they're still warm.

Here's a little video with the girls' critique:


INGREDIENTS:
2 cups oats
3/4 cup wheat germ
3/4 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup peanuts, crushed
2/3 cup brown sugar (can reduce to 1/3 cup)
1/2 cup honey
4 Tbsp butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
approximately 8 oz. dried fruit
(*I used 1/2 raisins and 1/2 dried cranberries)
(*Nature Valley includes almonds in their Trail Mix bars, but I didn't have any)

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

To crush your peanuts, put them in a plastic bag and smash them with a heavy mallet, measuring cup, or sauce pan.

Then, mix the peanuts, oats, wheat germ, and sunflower seeds in a baking dish with sides. Toast them in the oven for 10-12 minutes, stirring every few minutes so that they don’t get burned.

Meanwhile, prepare a glass baking dish (about 11 x 13 inches) (*I used 9x13) for your granola by spraying with a nonstick spray.

Put the brown sugar, honey, butter, vanilla, and salt into a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Let it bubble and get frothy, stirring constantly for 1 minute. This will caramelize the sugars and become the glue to help the bars stick together.

By now, your grains and nuts should be toasted, so mix everything together in a large bowl. The grains, the liquid “glue,” and the dried fruit. Mix everything w because you want to make sure the “glue” gets all over everything. Now, dump your granola mixture into your prepared baking dish.

Spread out the mixture with a wooden spoon or spatula.

Now fold over the sides of the waxed paper or add a sheet on top, and PRESS HARD all over the granola. You want to compact it together so that your bars won’t fall apart when you cut them. Remove the wax paper.

Wait 2-3 hours or until the granola has totally cooled.

Carefully turn the granola onto a large cutting board, peeling away the rest of the paper.

Now, firmly pressing down with a big knife (not sawing), cut your granola into whatever size bars you’d like. * We like to get 20 bars from a 9x13 pan.

I wrapped ours individually in plastic wrap, so that we could just throw one into our bag or lunch box in the morning. If you’d like to save on packaging though, you can store yours in an airtight container, between sheets of waxed paper (so they don’t stick together).

Honey Lime Chicken

This was pretty good. I especially liked the flavors of the pineapple and honey. Definately one to make again. FYI: I cut up boneless chicken breasts into strips, rather than buy tenders.

INGREDIENTS:
2 lbs chicken tenders
1/2 Tbl garlic salt
1 Tbl peanut oil
1 can pineapple rings (20 oz)
1/4 cup honey
3 Tbl lime juice
2 Tbl soy sauce
1 Tbl cornstarch
2 c (uncooked) white rice

DIRECTIONS:
1. Sprinkle chicken with garlic salt. Brown in oil. Drain pineapple. Add one fourth of the pineapple juice to skillet. Cover and simmer 6 to 8 minutes until chicken is golden. Remove chicken. Add honey, lime juice, soy sauce, cornstarch and remainder of pineapple juice. Bring to boil. Cook and stir until thick and clear, about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Allow to cool. Place chicken, pineapple rings and sauce in freezer bag. Label and freeze.

2. To serve: Thaw. Heat until sauce is hot and bubbly and chicken is heated through. Serve over white rice.

Servings: 6

Easy Pizza Hut Breadsticks

From RecipeZaar: Recipe #170013
Makes: 16 breadsticks

INGREDIENTS:
1 (10 ounce) can pizza dough (Pillsbury)
1 tablespoon parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon oregano
1/4 cup olive oil (approximately)
marinara sauce, for dipping

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 450º.

Unroll dough onto cutting board. Cut into 16 even strips.

Place each strip on a lightly greased cookie sheet.

Bake 6-8 minutes until golden brown.

While dough is baking, combine all DRY ingredients.

Remove baked breadsticks from oven and brush with olive oil and quickly sprinkle evenly with dry topping.

Serve with warm marinara sauce.

Cashew Chicken

We just tried this tonight. It is FABULOUS! Perhaps my favorite OAMC recipe yet. It was so authentic tasting. This was our first time cooking with fresh ginger. We peeled it with a vegetable peeler and then chopped into small bits. It smelled amazing! Not as hard as I thought it would be. Next time maybe I might even add broccoli or celery? But it was great as-is.

Source: Once-a-month-cookingworld.com

INGREDIENTS:
½ cup catsup
4 teaspoons soy sauce
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons sugar
1 ½ teaspoons sesame oil
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons cornstarch
½ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup cooking oil
2 tablespoons fresh gingerroot, minced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 onion, chopped
1 ½ cups cashews
1 can bamboo shoots, drained and sliced
1 can water chestnuts, drained and coarsely chopped
3 chicken breasts, cut into small pieces
2 cups cooked white rice

DIRECTIONS:
Cooking Day Instructions: Combine Catsup, soy sauce, salt, Worcestershire Sauce, sugar, sesame oil, cayenne pepper, and chicken broth and set aside. In a bowl, combine cornstarch, sugar, and salt. Toss the chicken with cornstarch mixture. Heat a wok or frying pan to a high heat and add cooking oil. When oil is hot add chicken. Add ginger root, garlic and onion. Stir fry mixture until chicken is cooked through and opaque. Add bamboo shoots and water chestnuts. Add catsup/soy sauce mixture to chicken and vegetables and cook until it comes to a boil. Cool, bag and freeze. Save cashews for serving.

Directions for Serving Day: Thaw bag in fridge overnight. Reheat over medium heat until just boiling. Add cashews. Serve over rice.

Burrito Pie

Source: allrecipes.com
"Ground beef, refried beans and tomatoes are combined with chilies and taco sauce, then layered in a casserole with tortillas and cheese, and baked."

INGREDIENTS:
1 pound ground beef
8 ounces shredded Colby cheese
1/2 onion, chopped
6 (8 inch) flour tortillas
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
1/2 (2 ounce) can black olives, sliced
1/2 (4 ounce) can diced green chili peppers
1/2 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chili peppers
1/2 (16 ounce) jar taco sauce

DIRECTIONS:
Cooking Day Instructions: In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté the ground beef for 5 minutes. Add the onion and garlic, and sauté for 5 more minutes. Drain any excess fat, if desired.

Mix in the olives, green chili peppers, tomatoes with green chili peppers, taco sauce and refried beans.

Stir mixture thoroughly, reduce heat to low, and let simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

Spread a thin layer of the meat mixture in the bottom of a 8x8 pan.

Cover with a layer of tortillas followed by more meat mixture, then a layer of cheese.

Repeat tortilla, meat, cheese pattern until all the tortillas are used, topping off with a layer of meat mixture and cheese. Cover pan and Freeze.

Serving Day: Thaw. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake, covered, for 60 minutes, or until cheese is slightly brown and bubbly.

Philly Cheese Steak Sloppy Joes

Source: Rachel Ray Show

INGREDIENTS:
1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 1/2 pound ground beef
1 softball-sized onion, chopped
1/4 cup steak sauce
1 cup beef stock
Salt and ground black pepper
1 cup provolone, shredded

You Provide:
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup milk
8 dinner rolls

DIRECTIONS:
Cooking Day Instructions: Chop Onion set aside. Shred provolone, put in freezer baggie, label, and freeze. In large skillet over medium-high heat with 1 turn of the pan of EVOO, brown the ground beef, about 5-6 minutes. Add the onion and cook another 3-4 minutes, until the onions start to get tender. Stir in the steak sauce and beef stock, season with salt and pepper, bring up to a bubble and cook about 2 minutes. Cool and put in freezer. Label.

Serving Day Instructions: Thaw frozen ingredients. Preheat broiler on low. Reheat meat mixture in Microwave for 2 or 3 minutes. Split open rolls and toast under broiler, keep your eye on them so they don’t burn! Melt the butter in a medium-size skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the flour and cook about 1 minute. Whisk in milk, bring up to a bubble and let thicken, about 2 minutes. Turn off heat and stir the cheese in a figure-eight motion until it is all incorporated. To serve, place a scoopful of the meat mixture onto the bottom of the rolls, then top with the cheese sauce and replace the top of the roll.

Yield: 8 sandwiches

Beef Barley Soup

Taken from OAMC Freezer Supper Swappers.

INGREDIENTS:
2 pounds bottom round roast, cubed
2 T olive oil
1/2 C butter
1 onion, diced
6 stalks celery, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
6 carrots, sliced
28 oz can of diced tomatoes
4 C water
4 beef bouillon cubes
1 C uncooked barley
1 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano

DIRECTIONS:
Cooking Day: Brown cubed beef in olive oil and set aside. Sauté onion, celery, garlic and carrots in butter until onions are clear. Add diced tomatoes, water, bouillon cubes, barley, salt, oregano and beef. Simmer at least 4 hours.

Serving Day: Thaw bags of meat and soup. Heat and serve.

OAMC Plan for March

It's been awhile since we've done a full OAMC day. One which would actually last us for an entire month. So today we went for it! Nine recipes, which will make 16 meals and should last us for at least 4 weeks (well, the chimichangas aren't done yet, but that will happen tomorrow for sure). Most of these are new recipes! I'm excited to try them out. Stay tuned for reviews...

Here's what we made:
* 1 Philly Cheese Steak Sloppy Joes *new*
* 1 Beef Barley Soup *new*
* 3 Jamie's Minestrone
* 2 Make-Ahead Chimichangas
* 2 Penne with Rosemary Chicken
* 2 Burrito Pies *new*
* 2 Cashew Chicken *new*
* 2 Crockpot Italian Meatloaves *new* (Note: these were no good)
* 1 Honey Lime Chicken *new*

Bagel Pizzas

We flash froze these and then vacuum sealed 4-5 in a bag. We baked for a full 30 minutes. Found on Recipezaar.

INGREDIENTS:
24 bagels, split and buttered (plain)
2 lbs ground beef
1 large onion, diced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon garlic salt
3 cups mozzarella cheese
1 jar pizza sauce (14 ounce)
1/2 cup fresh parsley, minced
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large skillet, brown the beef and onion; drain the fat.

2. Add salt, pepper, and garlic salt.

3. Spread 2 teaspoons of pizza sauce on each bagel. Spoon meat onto sauce. Sprinkle with parsley, mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

4. Place on a cookie sheet and flash freeze. Then, place bagels in freezer bag. Store in freezer until ready to serve.

5. To serve: bake frozen at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes, or until bubbly.

24 servings (48 bagel halves)

Make-Ahead Chimichangas

We stored the wrapped chimichangas in a couple gallon plastic bags with the instructions written on them as a reminder. We've only had them from frozen in the oven, but they are very good. Doug bakes for 55 min wrapped and only 5 min unwrapped so they're not quite so crunchy.

INGREDIENTS:
3 cups cooked chicken
16 ounces salsa
16 ounces refried beans
4 ounces green chili peppers, diced in can
1 envelope burrito seasoning mix or taco seasoning mix
16 flour tortillas (7- or 8-inch)
16 ounces cheddar cheese, cut into sixteen 5 x 1/2 inch sticks

DIRECTIONS:
1. Using two forks, shred cooked meat or chicken (should have about 3 cups).

2. In a large pot combine meat or chicken, salsa, beans, undrained chili peppers, and seasoning mix.

3. For each chimichanga, place 1/3 cup meat mixture atop a tortilla, near one edge.

4. Top with a cheese stick.

5. Fold in sides; roll up, starting with cheese side.

6. To prepare, wrap frozen chimichangas individually in foil.

7. Bake in a 350 degree F. oven about 50 minutes or until heated through. Or, thaw chimichangas in refrigerator overnight. Bake about 30 minutes. Unwrap. Bake 10 minutes more or until tortilla is crisp and brown.

Serves: 8

Old-Fashioned Chicken and Noodles

I found this recipe in Country Home and decided to make it for some friends who are under the weather. I used chicken thighs and the slow cooker method, and it couldn't have been easier! After 8 hours, I simply grabbed the thigh bones with tongs and the meat literally fell off when I gently shook it.

3 medium onions, chopped (1 1/2 cups)
3 stalks celery, sliced (1 1/2 cups)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. olive oil or butter
3 lb. meaty chicken pieces (drumsticks, thighs, and breast halves), skinned
4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 cup water
4 carrots, sliced (2 cups)
1 Tbsp. snipped fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 16-oz. pkg. frozen egg noodles
4 tsp. cornstarch
1 1/2 cups frozen peas
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
Fresh Thyme sprigs (optional)

1. In a Dutch oven cook onions, celery, and garlic in olive oil just until tender. Add chicken pieces, broth, water, carrots, 1 tablespoon thyme, bay leaf, poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, for 25 to 30 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Remove from heat. Remove chicken; set aside to cool slightly. Return pan to heat; bring broth mixture to boiling. Add frozen noodles and bring to boiling again. Reduce heat and cook, covered, for 20 to 25 minutes or until noodles are desired doneness. Meanwhile, remove meat from bones; discard bones. Chop the chicken. Remove bay leaf from noodle mixture and discard. Add cooked chicken to noodle mixture.

2. In a small bowl dissolve cornstarch in 2 tablespoons water. Add cornstarch mixture to pan along with peas and lemon juice. Cook and stir until slightly thickened and bubbly; cook and stir 2 minutes more. Garnish with thyme sprigs.

Makes 8 servings.

SLOW-COOKER DIRECTIONS: In 5- to 6-quart slow cooker place onion, celery, garlic, carrots, thyme, bay leaf, poultry seasoning, salt, and black pepper (omit olive oil and cooking of vegetables in oil). Place chicken pieces on top of vegetables. Pour chicken broth over chicken, omitting the 1 cup water. Cover; cook on low-heat setting 8 to 9 hours or on high-heat setting 4 to 4 1/2 hours. Remove chicken from cooker; cool slightly. Remove bay leaf; discard. Meanwhile, in a separate pan cook noodles according to package directions; drain. Remove chicken from bones; discard bones. Chop chicken; return to cooker with cooked noodles, peas, and lemon juice. (Omit cornstarch and water thickening step.) Stir to combine. Garnish as directed, if desired.

Penne with Rosemary Chicken

After making this recipe the first time, I think that the pasta should be cooked al dente before freezing. Will try next time and let you know how it turned out.

Ingredients:
Nonstick cooking spray
1 pound diced cooked chicken
1 pound penne pasta
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheese blend
½ cup yellow onion, diced
1 tablespoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
2 tbsp pimentos, drained (optional)
2 cups milk
1 ½ 15-ounce can(s) cream of mushroom soup

Directions:
Place all the ingredients into a large bowl and stir to combine. Transfer the mixture to a resealable freezer bag.

For dinner tonight:
Preheat the oven to 350F. Place the contents of a bag into 9x13 sprayed baking dish and cover with foil. Bake for 1 to 1 ¼ hours. Or, place in a crock pot, set on low heat, and cook for 5 to 6 hours.

To freeze:
Label, date, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before cooking as directed above.

Serves: 6

Six Can Chicken Tortilla Soup

I LOVE this quick, easy, delicious soup! I try to always buy the ingredients when they are on sale so I can whip this together whenever I like. It also freezes well. INGREDIENTS: 1 can whole kernel corn, drained 1 can chicken broth 1 can chunk chicken 1 can black beans 1 can diced tomatoes with green chile peppers, drained 1 can cream of chicken soup shredded cheddar cheese tortilla chips DIRECTIONS: Drain and rinse black beans. Pour everything into a large saucepan or stock pot. Simmer over medium heat until chicken is heated through. For OAMC: Pour everything into a gallon ziplock bag and freeze. Thaw and heat in microwave or over stove. Serve topped with shredded cheddar cheese and crumbed tortilla chips. Serves: 6

OAMC is cheaper!

This morning my friends and I cooked a bunch of OAMC recipes for Julie, whose newborn baby is in the NICU. I added up the cost for the ingredients so we could all split it up, and was again amazed by how affordable this type of cooking is. When you catch a good sale on meat, stock up and freeze. It pays!

Here's what we made:
1 Caribbean Pork over Rice
1 Penne with Rosemary Chicken
2 Charleston’s Baked Potato Soup
20 Make-Ahead Twice Baked Potatoes (5 lbs potatoes)
1 Chicken Tortilla Soup
18 Bagel Pizzas

Total cost: $48.77

That's a good week's worth of meals (lunch and dinner) and then some, for under $50.

Banana-Chip Oat Muffins

A really yummy recipe from allrecipes.com. Healthy, too!

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup quick-cooking oats
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3 medium ripe bananas, mashed
1 egg
2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:
In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients. In a small mixing bowl, beat butter and brown sugar until crumbly. Beat in the bananas, egg, applesauce and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in chocolate chips.

Coat muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray or line with paper liners; fill three-fourths full. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm.

Yield: 12 - 16 muffins

Crockpot Jambalaya

It's been a while since I've added a new OAMC recipe, but this is a keeper. It's adapted from the Dream Dinners cookbook. We ate it over steamed white rice, and Doug LOVED it! It has lot of flavor and is super easy to make.

Ingredients:
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into thirds
1/2 lb. kielbasa, sliced on the diagonal into 2-inch pieces (we will double this next time)
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes, with juice
1 c. green or red bell pepper, diced into 1-inch pieces
1 c. yellow onion, diced into 1-inch pieces
1/2 c. chicken broth
1 tbsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. Cajun seasoning
1 tsp. minced garlic

Directions:
Combine ingredients in a gallon-sized freezer bag. Close and squish bag to get seasonings moistened and evenly covering the meat. Freeze.

To cook:
Thaw completely and dump contents into the crock pot. Cook on low for 6-8 hours and serve over rice.

Spice Cookies with Pumpkin Dip

It's fall! Now's the time to make these fabulous cookies. I can't be held responsible for what they will do to your waistline, however. You can't eat just one...

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups butter or margarine, softened
2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup molasses
4 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger and cloves
1 teaspoon salt
PUMPKIN DIP:
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup pumpkin pie filling
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add molasses; mix well. Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt; add to creamed mixture and mix well. Chill overnight. (* Or for a few hours. Dough won't roll well when warm.)

2. Shape into 1/2-in. balls; roll in sugar. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 6 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Cool for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack.

3. For dip, beat cream cheese in a mixing bowl until smooth. Add pumpkin pie mix; beat well. Add sugar, cinnamon and ginger; beat until smooth. Serve with cookies. Store leftover dip in the refrigerator.

Yield: about 20 dozen

Old Fashioned Macaroni and Cheese

This is Aunt Linda's recipe. I have many fond memories of her making this for my visits and serving it along with some homemade applesauce, still slightly frosty from the freezer. Yum!

INGREDIENTS:
6-7 oz. elbow macaroni (2 cups)
2 tbsp grated onion
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper (* I go lighter on the pepper, personally)
3 c. shredded process sharp American cheese (3/4 lb) (* I use Velvetta cut into squares)
1 tbsp butter
THIN WHITE SAUCE INGREDIENTS:
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper (*I go lighter on this)
2 c. milk

DIRECTIONS:

Heat oven to 375 degrees.
Cook macaroni in (1 tbsp) salted water.
Place 1/2 macaroni in ungreased 2 quart casserole. Sprinkle with 1/2 onion, salt pepper and cheese; repeat.
Pour white sauce over casserole.
Dot w/butter.
Cover, Bake 30 min.
Uncover, bake 15 min. longer.

THIN WHITE SAUCE DIRECTIONS:
Melt butter in saucepan over low heat. Blend in flour, salt and pepper. Cook over low heat, stirring until mixture in smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat. Stir in milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute.

Serves: 6 for main dish, 8-10 for side dish

Crock Pot Apple Butter

I have been wanting to try this recipe for awhile, and finally got the chance. It took about 13 hours, but was easy and made the whole kitchen smell great! It tastes just like the Amish stuff I remember.


INGREDIENTS:
5 1/2 lbs apples, peeled and finely chopped (I use 3-4 different types of apples)
4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (2 to 3)
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:
1. Place apples in a large bowl.

2. Combine sugar, cinnamon, cloves and salt.

3. Pour over apples and mix well.

4. Place in crock pot, cover and cook on high for 1 hour.

5. Decrease heat to low; cover and cook on low for 9-11 hours or until thickened and dark brown.

6. Stir occasionally.

7. Uncover and cook on low for 1 hour longer.

8. If desired, whisk until smooth.

9. Spoon into freezer containers, leaving 1/2-inch head space.

10. Cover and freeze.

Makes 4 pints

Chocolate Cherry Bites (cookies)

1 cup chopped pecans (optional)
1 cup unsalted butter (softened)
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 Tbl instant expresso powder dissolved in 1 Tbl boiling water (optional)
1 Tbl vanilla
1 1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup cocoa
1 teas. baking powder
1/4 teas salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cup dried cherries

Grease or use parmchment paper on cookie sheets

Beat butter and sugar for 1 minute, add eggs and beat 1 minute
Add expresso. Add vanilla, Add dry ingreiants that have already been mixed

Drop by rounded Tbl on baking sheet.
Bake 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees
Cool on sheets 10 minutes before removing

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

I found these on allrecipes (where else?), but found they make great jumbo muffins! They are SO good, one regular sized-muffin just wasn't enough.


INGREDIENTS
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup plain yogurt (*OR 3/4 cup sour cream)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (*at least one cup)
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, combine the egg, oil, yogurt/sour cream and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.

Fold in bananas and chocolate chips. (* I lightly floured the chocolate chips to help keep them from sinking during baking)

Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 22-25 minutes (for regular muffins, 27 minutes for jumbo) or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

SERVINGS: 16 regular or 8 jumbo muffins

Absolute Best Ever Lasagna

This was the first time I made this recipe, so we'll see if it's really the "best ever." Stay posted!

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
1/2 lb Italian sausage
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried basil
2 cans whole tomatoes (14 1/2 ounce) undrained and chopped (*I used petite diced)
2 cans tomato paste (6 ounce)
24 ounces cottage cheese or ricotta cheese (* I used ricotta)
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons parsley
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 lb mozzarella cheese, divided
12 lasagna noodles (12 to 15)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Brown ground beef, Italian sausage, onion and garlic. *Directions don't call for it specifically, but I strained the grease out at this point.*

2. Add salt and next 5 ingredients; stirring until well mixed.

3. Simmer 1 hour.

4. Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions; drain and set aside.

5. Combine cottage cheese, eggs, pepper, 2 tablespoons parsley, Parmesan cheese and 1/2 of mozzarella cheese; In a lasagna pan, layer noodles, meat sauce, and cheese mixture; repeat.

6. Top off with layer of noodles; sprinkle evenly with remaining mozzarella cheese.

FOR OAMC:
6a. Freeze unbaked.

7. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes, or until cheese mixture is thoroughly melted.

SERVINGS: 10

Jamie's Minestrone

This has been a "keeper" recipe ever since I found it on allrecipes.com. My notes are within the recipe, which is pretty much the same as posted.


INGREDIENTS:
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 onions, chopped
2 cups celery, sliced
5 carrots, sliced
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
4 cups tomato sauce
1/2 cup red wine (optional)
1 cup canned kidney beans, drained
1 can green beans, 15 oz
2 cups baby spinach
3 zucchinis, quartered and sliced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano (or 1 tsp dried oregano)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (or 2 tsp dried basil)
salt and pepper to taste

WHEN READY TO EAT:
1/2 cup seashell pasta (we like to double this at least)
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese for topping, grated

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large stock pot, over medium-low heat, heat olive oil and saute garlic for 2 to 3 minutes. Add onion and saute for 4 to 5 minutes. Add celery and carrots, saute for 1 to 2 minutes.

2. Add chicken broth, water and tomato sauce, bring to boil, stirring frequently. If desired add red wine at this point. Reduce heat to low and add kidney beans, green beans, spinach leaves, zucchini, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, the longer the better. (I do it for one hour.)

FOR OAMC: 2a. Cool soup and freeze. A double batch fills 3 ziplock gallon sized bags. FYI: This makes A LOT, so I use a pretty huge pot when I double it.

3. Fill a medium saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Add pasta and cook until tender. Drain water and set aside.

4. Once pasta is cooked and soup is heated through, place portions of cooked pasta into individual serving bowls. Ladle soup on top of pasta and sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top.

Servings: 8

A Mini-OAMC Plan

I did a "mini-OAMC" today, since our weekends are tending to fill up quickly, and it's difficult to make a ton of meals at once.

* Three-Way Chili
* Jamie's Minestrone
* Absolute Best Ever Lasagne *NEW*
* Quick Chicken Curry

Zucchini Brownies

These are AWESOME. My new favorite way to use zucchini, found at allrecipes. But they really are more of a cake than a brownie. It's a good feeling to watch the girls unknowingly gobble up all that zucchini!

BROWNIE INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded zucchini
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

FROSTING INGREDIENTS:
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup margarine (I used butter)
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking pan.

In a large bowl, mix together the oil, sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla until well blended. Combine the flour, 1/2 cup cocoa, baking soda and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Fold in the zucchini and walnuts. ***NOTE: if the mixture is very dry and crumbly at this point, add in water a couple tablespoons at a time until the batter is moist and will pour into the pan. When I use thawed zucchini shreds, the water in the bag is enough to moisten the batter.***

Spread evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until brownies spring back when gently touched.

To make the frosting, melt together the 6 tablespoons of cocoa and margarine; set aside to cool. In a medium bowl, blend together the confectioners' sugar, milk and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in the cocoa mixture. Spread over cooled brownies before cutting into squares.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

I LOVE this bread! I discovered the recipe last year and have made it countless times since. We've tried several ways to do the chips to keep them from sinking. When I sprinkle them on top, half sunk and half stayed on top. When I mix in the batter, they all sink. Who cares - they still taste great no matter where they land!

2 squares unsweetened chocolate (1 ounce)
3 eggs
2 cups white sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups grated zucchini
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease AND flour two 9x5 inch loaf pans. In a microwave-safe bowl, microwave chocolate until melted. Stir occasionally until chocolate is smooth.

2. In a large bowl, combine eggs, sugar, oil, grated zucchini, vanilla and chocolate; beat well. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and chocolate chips. Add to wet mixture. Pour batter into prepared loaf pans.

3. Bake in preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a loaf comes out clean.

Original recipe yield:
2 9x5 inch loaf pans

Fresh Zucchini Pasta

This is badly named Angel's Pasta on allrecipes. Not that my title is much better, but it's a delicious use for all the basil and zucchini I've been growing!

INGREDIENTS:
8 ounces angel hair pasta
1 tablespoon crushed garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 zucchini, sliced
salt and pepper to taste
3 tomatoes, chopped (or 1 [14.5 oz] can diced tomatoes, drained)
12 leaves fresh basil
4 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded

DIRECTIONS:
1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.

2. Meanwhile, heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Pour in oil and saute garlic until golden. Stir in zucchini, salt and pepper. Saute 2 minutes, then mix in tomato and cook a few minutes more. Chop basil and add to vegetables right before mixing with pasta.

3. Combine pasta and vegetables. Serve topped with mozzarella.

Servings: 4

Garden Fresh...Year Round

Sometime last year, I learned that you can freeze fresh herbs and use them at a later time. This has worked out very well for me! I used to buy expensive herbs and use only a small portion of them. The rest would spoil before I found another need for it.

Now, I use what I need, vacuum seal and freeze the rest. Freeze it UNCUT, (lesson learned the hard way) and chop it up as soon as it's out of the bag. The herbs will still lend a lot of flavor to your recipe.

Here's some from our garden:

Chicken Cornbread Pot Pie

From: Campbell's Kitchen
Prep: 10 minutes
Bake: 30 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
1 can (about 8 ounces) whole kernel corn, drained
2 cups cubed cooked chicken OR 1/2 grocery store rotisserie chicken
1 pkg. (8 1/2 ounces) corn muffin mix
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese


Directions:

For Freezing: We use a Sam's Club Rotisserie chicken, put all the shredded pieces from a chicken split into two freezer bags. Once we're ready to make the meal we take out one of the chicken bags (makes two recipes total) and finish the recipe by following the directions below since it only take 10 minutes of prep time.

Heat the oven to 400°F. Stir the soup, corn and chicken in a 9-inch pie plate.

Stir the muffin mix, milk and egg with a fork in a small bowl until the ingredients are mixed. Spoon over the chicken mixture.

Bake for 30 minutes or until the cornbread is golden. Sprinkle with the cheese.

Gnocchi with Sage-Butter Sauce

We bought some pre-made gnocchi at Sam's Club. We ate the first two bags with pasta sauce, but this is the way I made the last bag and will make the rest from now on. Notice that my photo was used on allrecipes! I'm famous!


INGREDIENTS
2 (12 ounce) packages potato gnocchi
1/4 cup butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried sage
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the gnocchi pasta, and cook until they float to the surface, 2 to 3 minutes; drain.

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, and cook until the garlic has softened and is beginning to turn golden brown, about 4 minutes. Stir in the sage and salt for a few seconds, then add the cooked gnocchi. Toss gently with 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese and the pepper. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese to serve.

Servings: 4

Baked Pork Chops

In an effort to use up food we already have, I've been searching my favorite website, allrecipes.com, for new recipes. They allow you to search by ingredients. Here's a wonderful find for Pork Chops. I used 6 thin sliced chops, so cut the initial bake time to 45 min. Obviously I served it over mini penne pasta.


INGREDIENTS
6 pork chops
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
2 egg, beaten
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups Italian-style seasoned bread crumbs
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup white wine

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Rinse pork chops, pat dry, and season with garlic powder and seasoning salt to taste. Place the beaten eggs in a small bowl. Dredge the pork chops lightly in flour, dip in the egg, and coat liberally with bread crumbs.

Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the pork chops 5 minutes per side, or until the breading appears well browned. Transfer the chops to a 9x13 inch baking dish, and cover with foil.

Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour. While baking, combine the cream of mushroom soup, milk and white wine in a medium bowl. After the pork chops have baked for an hour, cover them with the soup mixture. Replace foil, and bake for another 30 minutes.

Servings: 6

Chocolate Caramel Bars

I've had this recipe since college, and feel it makes the best chocolate caramel bars in the history of the universe!

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups flour
2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
--
1 cup butter, melted
--
6 ounces chocolate chips
14 ounces caramel candy, Hershey's work well
1/3 cup milk

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat over 350 degrees. Grease 9x13 pan.
2. Mix first 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Stir in butter with fork until crumbly. 3. Press 1/2 into pan. Bake for 10 min.
4. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Drizzle with caramel mixture.
5. Sprinkle remaining oat mixture over top. Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown - 20-25 min.
6. Cool 30 minutes. Loosen edges from sides of pan.
7. Cool completely, cut into bars.

CARAMEL MIXTURE:
Heat caramels and milk over low heat. Stir frequently until smooth.
OR
Microwave on high for 2 min 30 secs in Pampered Chef Micro-cooker, stirring after each minute.

All Purpose Taco Blend

This recipe is from my friend, Lisa. She made us quesadillas using it, and I made grilled stuffed burritos with it last night. Also good for taco salad, taco casserole and whatever else you have in mind!

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 can black beans, canned
1 small can chopped green chiles, undrained
1 package onion soup mix
1 can diced tomatoes, Mex Style, undrained
1 package taco seasoning mix
1/2 cup water
1 package Spanish rice mix, cooked

Directions:
1. Brown beef and add all ingredients
2. Simmer mixture 5-7 min and add water as needed

Murder Mystery Chicken

Taken from http://www.recipezaar.com/recipes.php?chef=237063


INGREDIENTS:
8 boneless chicken breasts
8 slices swiss cheese
2 cans cream of chicken soup (10 1/2 ounce)
1 cup white wine
1/4 cup melted butter
1 cup crushed croutons, herb seasoned
Rice

DIRECTIONS:
1. Grease a baking dish.

2. Place chicken breasts in the dish.

3. Top with slices of Swiss cheese.

4. Combine soup and wine, pour over chicken and cheese.

5. Drizzle with melted butter and sprinkle the top with the crushed croutons.

6. Bake covered at 350 for 1 hour, then uncovered for 10 minutes.

7. Serve over rice.

8. For Once a Month Cooking:.

9. Put together cheese, chicken soup, wine and put chicken on top.Freeze uncooked. When ready to cook, top with croutons or bread crumbs with butter and cook at temp in recipe.

Servings: 8

Wild Rice Soup

Recipe from Kristi
Lori's Notes: Doubling this recipe called for the big dog yellow stock pot. A single recipe would probably have fit into my crock pot. I didn't keep track of how long it cooked, exactly. I didn't realize the rice had to be pre-cooked, so I had everything else boiling while I cooked the rice. Probably 1 hour, and then added the rice and cooked for another hour or so?

Used Kitchen Aid shredder to do carrots and potatoes. Next time, will try on the coarse blade, instead of the thin OR use the food processor. The Pampered Chef mandolin didn't work well.

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 c. white rice
1/2 c. wild rice
1 lb. ground beef, browned and drained
2 c. chicken broth
1 can cream of chicken soup
3 c. milk
1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 pkg. Hidden Valley Ranch buttermilk dressing mix
1 c. shredded potatoes
1 c. shredded carrots
1 c. mushrooms, optional
1 c. onion, chopped

DIRECTIONS:
1. Prepare rice according to package directions.

2. In a large pot, combine broth, soup, milk, cheese, dressing mix, hamburger, vegetables and rice.

3. Warm over medium heat until thoroughly cooked.

Servings: 6

Lil' Cheddar Meatloaves

I made into the egg-shaped loaves, put on wax paper, flash froze and then we vacuum-sealed them 4 to a pack. We'll thaw them, cover with sauce and bake as directed. http://www.recipezaar.com/59056

INGREDIENTS:
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese(4oz)
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon rubbed sage (optional)
1 lb lean ground beef
2/3 cup catsup
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons prepared mustard

DIRECTIONS:
In a bowl, beat the egg and milk.

Stir in cheese, oats, onion, salt and rubbed sage.

Add beef and mix well.
(It will seem runny at first but will thicken up as you mix.) Shape into 8 equal sized loaves (oval/egg shaped) and place in a greased 9X13X2" baking dish.

Sauce: Combine catsup, brown sugar and mustard.

Spoon over each loaf so they are all covered in the sauce.

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until meat is no longer pink and a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees.

For OAMC:.

To Freeze:Place the meat loaves in the casserole dish (without sauce).

Wrap with foil and freeze.

To Reheat: Defrost overnight.

Mix together the sauce and top each meat loaf with sauce.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until meat is no longer pink in the center.

Cooked meat loaves (already topped with sauce) also freeze very well and then can be defrosted and heated in the microwave for a quick meal.

Servings: 8

Italian Hero Calzones

I altered this from http://www.recipezaar.com/78044

INGREDIENTS:
2 tablespoons cornmeal
1/2 pound sausage meat, spicy
3 ounces thinly sliced smoked turkey or pepperoni, chopped
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (3 ounces)
2 packages pizza dough (refrigerated or frozen) (10 ounce)
parmesan cheese, finely shredded or grated
1 green pepper, chopped
1 cup diced tomatoes, drained

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 425f degrees.

2. Lightly grease a very large baking sheet and sprinkle with cornmeal, set aside.

3. Drain tomatoes well.

4. In a medium bowl, combine the tomatoes, tukey and/or pepperoni, and olives.

5. Stir in the mozzarella cheese.

6. On a lightly floured surface, roll each package of pizza dough to a 12 x 9 retangle.

7. Using a round cutter, cut each rectangle into circles.

8. Place a small portion of the meat/cheese mix slightly off centre on each dough circle.

9. Fold dough over mixture, forming a semicircle.

10. Seal the edge of each semicircle with the tines of a fork.

11. Place the calzones on a prepared baking sheet.

12. Brush the tops with the reserved oil from tomatoes and sprinkle with parmesan cheese and, if desired, cayenne pepper.

13. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until calzones are golden.

14. Serve warm.

15. MAKE AHEAD: Prepare and bake calzones as directed.

16. Remove to a wire rack and cool completely.

17. Place the calzones in a freezer container or freezer bag.

18. Seal, label and freeze for up to 2 months.

19. To reheat, preheat oven to 350f degrees.

20. Place the frozen calzones on an ungreased baking sheet.

21. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until heated through.

22. If necessary, cover loosely with foil to prevent overbrowning.

Servings: 6

March OAMC

So Sharon inspired me to get back into the OAMC routine! Here's what we made:
* Italian Calzones
* Lil' Cheddar Meatloaves *NEW*
* Murder Mystery Chicken *NEW*
* Three-Way Chili
* Healthy Chicken Fingers and Fries
* Wild Rice Soup *NEW*
* Chicken Lo Mein

I'll add reviews as we try the new stuff.

Lemonade Cheesecake (low calories)

This is very easy to make, low fat and tastes great!

Ingredients:

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Fat Free Cream Cheese, softened

1 tsp. CRYSTAL LIGHT Lemonade Flavor Low Calorie Soft Drink Mix

1/4 cup cold fat-free milk

1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP FREE Whipped Topping, thawed

1 ready-to-use reduced-fat graham cracker crumb crust (6 oz. or 9 inch)

Directions:

BEAT cream cheese and drink mix in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended and smooth. Gradually add milk, mixing until well blended. Gently stir in whipped topping. Spoon into crust.

REFRIGERATE 4 hours or FREEZE for 1 hour until firm. Garnish with fruit, if desired.

Chicken Lo Mein

Another good recipe I found on Kraft's website.

Ingredients:
1 lb. spaghetti, uncooked
1/2 cup KRAFT Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing
2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, strips
1 cup fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 Tbsp. peanut butter
1/2 cup lite soy sauce
4 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
Optional:
1 green and red bell pepper, cut into strips
1 can waterchestnuts

Directions:
COOK spaghetti in large saucepan as directed on package.

MEANWHILE, heat dressing in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat.
Add chicken and garlic; stir-fry 3 min. or until chicken is no longer pink.
Add onions, broth and peanut butter; stir-fry an additional
3 to 4 min. or until chicken is cooked through.

DRAIN spaghetti; return to pan. Add chicken mixture and soy sauce; mix.
Spoon onto serving platter; sprinkle with cilantro. Serves 8.

Healthy Chicken Fingers and Fries

This is a healthy recipe I found on Kraft's website. This is sooooo good when you stick it in the toaster or regular oven after it has been frozen.

Ingredients:
4 large baking potatoes (about 2 lb.), unpeeled
1/2 cup KRAFT Fat Free Zesty Italian Dressing
1/2 cup KRAFT 100% Fat Free Grated Parmesan Cheese
2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
2 pkt. SHAKE 'N BAKE Original Chicken Seasoned Coating Mix

Directions:
PREHEAT oven to 425°F. Cut potatoes into 1/2-inch-thick strips;
place in large bowl. Add dressing and cheese; toss to coat.
Place in single layer on large greased baking sheet.
BAKE 12 min. Meanwhile, coat chicken strips with coating mix.
TURN potatoes over with large spatula; push to one side of
baking sheet. Place chicken strips on other side of baking sheet.
Bake an additional 15 min. or until potatoes are tender and
chicken is cooked through. Serves 8.