Tuna Noodle Casserole

I love TNC but we didn't have it much growing up since my dad HATES it. Who coudln't love this stuff? I have actually made this one twice in the last two months and my favorite part about it is that I don't need to defrost anything!!! I found this recipe on allrecipes.com and it is soooo good. It is amazingly similar to my Macaroni recipe so maybe I found that on allrecipes too...hmmm. I used to do that standard Tuna fish, noodles, cream of mushroom soup and some peas route but this is WAY better. Albeit a bit more work but totally worth it in the end.

Tuna Noodle Casserole


8 oz wide egg noodles
1 can tuna fish, drained
2 cups peas
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350
1. Prepare egg noodles as any pasta. Drain and let cool.
2. In a large sauce pan melt your butter over medium high heat and add your flour. Mix two together until smooth.
3. Add in your milk; whisking it to allow it to thicken-usually once mixture begins to boil it will be thick enough.
4. Add in cheese and whisk until melted and all ingredients are well combined.
5. Remove from heat and stir in the noodles, tuna and peas.
6. Spoon into a 2 qt casserole dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Top with additional cheese if you wish and bake for 30-35 minutes.

Oven Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Wow! Long time no post!! I am lucky to have enough time to post to one blog and so much has been happening at home lately that I put some good posts over on my 'life' blog instead :)

Anyhow, this is a recipe that I LOVE to make. It could be made as the main dish it is so hearty and filling. But, alas my husband needs some meat to call it a meal and this makes a perfect accompaniment. I don't make it in the summer too often but occasionally I will. I don't remember where I got the original recipe from (bad me!) but I know it is NOT mine and am not going to take credit for it. I read about it somewhere and then handwrote the recipe on a scrap of paper. I am now turning that scrap of paper into this post!

Oven Baked Macaroni and Cheese


1 8 oz box of pasta, cooked and drained (use whatever shape/style you like)
2 Tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of flour
2 cups of milk
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 and spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.
1. prepare pasta as you normally would and set aside.
2. in a large saucepan combine the butter and flour over medium high heat until well combined. There should be no lumps of flour left at this point.
3. Pour in milk and cook until thickened. Stir occasionally.
4. Add your cheese and continuously stir until all melted. Your sauce she be thick and creamy now.
5. Remove from heat and stir in pasta.
6. Spread in your prepared baking pan and bake for 20 minutes.
You can top with bread crumbs or potato chip crumbs before baking but we prefer not to

Watermelon Cookies

The minute I first saw these I wanted to make them. It just so happened that I found them over the Memorial Day weekend when I was looking for something to add to our family picnic. I found them on another blog: Amanda's Cooking and you can check it out HERE and she has a really great craft blog too! So, I decided to make these cookies just as the recipe instructs-I had never made dough this way but I was willing to try. Just one thing I forgot to do the first time around...you can see it in the picture below :) I call those my honeydew melons with seeds. I was able to fix it the second time I rolled the dough though and they were a hit. They taste really good and we all enjoyed them. Definitely something I would do again!

Watermelon Cookies


**These do not taste like watermelon, only look like one**

Cookie Dough
3 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teasponn baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup cold, unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 drops red food coloring (try not to forget this!)
1 cup miniature semi sweet chocolate chips

Glaze
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2-3 tablespoons milk
green food coloring

1.In a medium bowl sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl mix butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and red food coloring on medium speed until well combined.
3. Turn mixer down to low and gradually add flour mixture. Mix until no more flour can be seen. Gather the dough together in a ball using a spoon or spatula.
4. Remove dough from bowl and divide in two equal pieces. Between two sheets of parchment paper roll out each piece of dough until it is about 1/4 inch thick.
5. Place dough in refrigerator for two hours.
6. Preheat oven to 400.
7. Remove one batch of chilled dough from fridge. Remove top sheet of parchment paper and using a round cookie cutter or biscuit cutter (I used a small drinking cup) cut out circles.
8. Using a sharp knife cut each circle in half and place on baking sheet.
9. Gently press the chocolate chips into each half circle. Repeat process with other half of dough.
10. Bake for 6-7 minutes or until slightly puffed. Don't let them get too brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
11. You can reroll any unused dough between the parchment and place back in the fridge and cut more cookies.
12. Mix all ingredients together for the glaze. You may add a splash or two more of milk if the glaze is too thick.
13. Have a wire rack ready on your table or counter with parchment paper underneath it.
14. Carefully dip and 'roll' the rounded side of each cookie in the glaze. Place right side up on the wire rack and allow any excess to drip off onto the parchment paper and then dry completely.

Shrimp Scampi

Brad and I both love seafood. I haven't eaten it much lately with being pregnant and now nursing but I still love it. One of our favorites when we go out to eat is shrimp scampi and Brad has always asked me to find out how to make it. Well, I did some research and kind of combined a couple of scampi recipes off of allrecipes.com. We found frozen shrimp for a really good price at Kroger a few weeks ago and I finally tried it out. I defrosted way too much so I had enough for two days and this was even better as leftovers. I served it over pasta and called it a meal.

Shrimp Scampi


1 pound peeled, deveined shrimp (I used frozen with tails on)
1 stick butter
4 cloves garlic, diced
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
salt
pepper
crushed red pepper flakes
parsley


Preheat oven to 350
1. Arrange shrimp in a circular pattern in a casserole dish or pie plate.
2. In a medium sauce pan melt butter. As butter is melting at garlic to pan and allow to simmer until fragrant. Add lemon juice and simmer for about 5 minutes.
3. Add salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste.
4. Pour over shrimp in casserole dish and top with some of the parsley. Cook for 25-35 minutes or until shrimp are hot and sauce is bubbly. Check on it after 10 minutes to be sure it isn't drying up.
Serve over pasta or as a side to steak or other seafood dish.

French Dip Sandwiches

I found this incredible easy recipe on allrecipes.com-I LOVE that site! I was willing to try the "real way" someday but when I found this I was so happy. I made sure to file it away in my brain for the right time. Brad and I both love these when we go out to eat so I wanted to try it at home without making a roast and then using the juices to make the 'dip'. But I had to have good au jus since that is Brads favorite part. He soaks his sandwich in it, he dips his fries in it and if I don't stop him he will drink any that is left over. Yes, he did that the other night in our home :)

French Dip Sandwiches


1 can beef stock
1 pound thinly sliced deli roast beef
provolone cheese
4 hoagie rolls-split open

1. Turn broiler on low. Place the hoagie rolls inside face up and put under the broiler until they are slightly toasted. Remove from oven; turn broiler off and set oven to 350.
2. In a pan heat stock until almost boiling. Reduce to medium heat and add roast beef allowing to heat through.
3. Remove beef from stock and pile on one half of each hoagie roll. Top with provolone cheese. Place back in oven until cheese is melted.
4. Place top of hoagie roll on sandwich-cut in half if you wish. Serve with a dipping bowl of the beef stock.

The Pioneer Woman's Chicken with mushrooms and artichokes....sort of

In food blog world Pioneer Woman is a legend. Revered by any blogger worth the salt in her recipes :) She is a wonder and rumor has it that they are now even making a movie about HER life. All because she started a blog! Her story is quite interesting and she has a way with words. She is a pro in the kitchen without ever taking real cooking course and her recipes are inspiring. I haven't done one...until now. This one was great for us. We always have tons of chicken in the house and we LOVE mushrooms in anything and Brad had just picked up a carton of fresh ones and asked if I could 'make something with these in it'...but of course he gave no suggestions ;) I really enjoyed this recipe but think I may try to add some cheese to the sauce next time. Don't judge, I told you we like cheese. Oh, and of course I had everything in the house so you know I jumped on this recipe (but I did tweak it since we don't like artichokes). However, I did the unspeakable. I committed the worst crime when it comes to handing on recipes. I forgot to take a picture!!! But, go to Pioneer Woman's website if you want to see this complete project. Plus, she has photos of EVERY step in the recipe. And, she is hilarious. Go see her site. You'll love it. I promise.

Pioneer Woman's chicken with Mushrooms and Artichokes

8 whole chicken legs or thighs (my package only had 5 legs)
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons olive oil
16 ounces white mushrooms, sliced
5 whole garlic cloves, minced (I thought this would be too much but did it anyway...trust me-do all 5!)
1/2 cup white wine (I omitted. Didn't have any cooking wine in the house. Only the good stuff and since I can't drink it I didn't open it :))
2 cups chicken broth (more as needed)
1 14.5 ounce can artichoke hearts-drained, rinsed and patted dry
1 cup heavy cream
freshly chopped chives to taste (you know I didn't have fresh ones)
Freshly grated parmesan
16 ounces pasta cooked and drained

1. Salt and pepper chicken pieces.
2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken to pan and brown for 1-2 minutes. Remove chicken from skillet.
3. Add mushrooms to pan with garlic. Stir around and allow to cook for a few minutes. Add wine and cook allowing it to evaporate a bit.
4. Pour in chicken broth. It should make the sauce very liquidy. Stir to get all the bits off the bottom of the pan. Return chicken to pan. Add artichoke hearts.
5. Place lid on pan and cook for 30 minutes on medium low heat. Check often to be sure the chicken broth hasn't evaporated. If it has just add a bit more.
6. Remove lid and turn heat to low. Remove chicken once more. Pour in cream and stir it around. Add chives and then put chicken back in pan. Put lid back on and continue cooking for 10 minutes to allow sauce to thicken.
7. Pour over pasta and top with parmesan and more chives.

Double Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake

This is the dessert I made for Mother's Day dinner. I was really excited to try it but it was a semi-fail. It tasted great but the chocolate pudding stuff was supposed to get thick and mine never did. I found this recipe on kraftfoods.com and the picture looked great. Mine shows how runny the cake was but it was still delicious!

Double Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake


1 box chocolate cake mix and the ingredients needed to make it
1 box (4oz.) jello instant chcolate pudding
1 tub whipped topping
2 tablespoons strawberry jam (I thought I had jam but only had jelly...jam would have been easier)
2 cups fresh strawberries sliced; divided
3/4 cup milk

1. bake cake into two 8 inch rounds according to package directions. When done, remove from pans and cool on wire racks.
2. in a bowl mix milk and pudding mix with wire whisk. Beat for about 2 minutes. Mixture should be thick. Add whipped topping and mix well.
3. Place one layer of cake on cake stand or cake board. Spread jam on top cake and top with HALF EACH of the pudding mixture and strawberries.
4. top with second cake and finish off with other half of pudding and strawberries.
5. Chill for at least one hour. Store in refrigerator. Top with powdered sugar if you like.

Roasted Potatoes...on the grill

I kind of made this one up and researched online how long I would need to put them on the grill for. I love grilled veggies and these were good! I made them to go with our Mother's Day dinner.

Roasted Potoatoes


4-5 large potatoes
1 medium sweet onion
2 bell peppers (I had an orange and yellow on hand-you can use whatever color you like)
salt
pepper
garlic salt
poultry seasoning
4 tablespoons of butter cut in slices

preheat your grill on high heat
1. on your countertop lay out about 2 feet of tin foil.
2. cut the potatoes into large slices or wedges and place them down the center of the foil. Cut up the onion and the peppers and mix in with the potatoes.
3. sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic salt and poultry seasoning. top with the butter slices.
4. fold in the ends and sides of the foil making a packet around the potatoes. Wrap in a second piece of foil going in the opposite direction of the first piece.
5. place on grill for about 45 minutes.

Grilled Tomato and Mozzarella Sandwiches

I hate tomatoes. I only like grape or cherry tomatoes where they are all in one bite and aren't runny and oozing everywhere. I just don't understand why anyone would want a cold, gooey mess leaking it's juices all over their food! When I worked at the Yacht club though I found out I loved them when they are grilled with some mozzarella cheese. I don't have a panini press so I imporvised this recipe the other day when I saw I had some cherry tomatoes that were going to go bad soon and I wanted something different for lunch.

Grilled Tomato and Mozzarella Sandwiches


Two slices of bread
butter
basil
cherry or grape tomatoes (you could also use just regular tomato slices)
shredded mozzarella cheese

1. butter one side of each piece of bread and sprinkle with some basil
2. in a heated pan place one piece of bread in butter side down.
3. cut the tomatoes in small pieces and place on the bread in the pan. Top with a handful of chees and sprinkle with more basil.
4. Place the other piece of bread on top with buttered side up. Cook on first side for about 3 minutes or until bread is toasted. CAREFULLY flip and cook on second side until bread is toasted.

Bacon, Potato and cheese chowder

This is a recipe I found on kraftfoods.com and we like it in our house. It is very simple and would qualify as 'semi-homemade' in my opinion. I now try to keep the ingredients in the house at all times. This came in handy when the weather turned cold this past weekend and Brad asked for soup for dinner. Well, I didn't have most ingredients for my other soups since I didn't think we would need any cold weather meals anymore! But, I did this with some sandwiches and it was great!

Bacon, Potato and Cheese Chowder


1 can condensed cream of potato soup
3 cups milk
8 pieces of bacon cooked and crumbled
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups Southern style frozen hashbrowns (I just dice up about 3 large fresh potatos)

1. In a saucepan mix the milk and soup.
2. Add potatoes and bring to a boil on high heat. Simmer on medium high heat for about ten minutes.
3. stire in cheese and bacon pieces. Sprinkle with parsley or scallion slices.

Chicken Crescents

I found this one on another food blog and it isn't all that bad. Another big plus is that I usually have everything on hand in the house already. Noticing a pattern yet on what a good recipe is to me?! :)

Chicken Crescents



1 Chicken breast (I use BIG ones)
Vegetable oil
4 oz. Cream Cheese
1 package Crescent Rolls
about 1 cup diced onion
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
little bit of milk
parsley

Preaheat oven to 350
Place the cream cheese in a bowl to soften
1. In medium skillet heat oil and add onion and chicken meat. Don't move the chicken too much but rather cook 3-5 minutes on each side and flip only once. You can also add some minced garlic to the skillet if you wish.
2. When chicken is done remove from pan and set aside to cool.
3. layout the crescent rolls on a a cookie sheet. They should be separated like you are actually making them into the rolls.
4. Finely dice the chicken and add to the bowl with the cream cheese and mix it well.
5. spoon a spoonful of the mixture onto the large part of each crescent roll. Fold up the long cornere and wrap it around the roll to hold it in place. The chicken mixture may peek out a bit and thats ok. Put in oven and bake for about 8 minutes.
6. While they cook in a small saucepan heat the soup, sour cream, a few splashes of milk and a dash of parsley. Stir together well and heat thoroughly.
7. When crescents are done top them with the sauce before serving.

Chicken Parmesan Stromboli

This is another one of those recipes from that 'club' I used to get recipe cards from. I tried it years ago and it quickly became a regular at the dinner table when I still lived at home. Brad and the rest of the guys in my family really like this one as do my two nieces. I can't complain about it either plus it is really easy! I tried a variation of this one the other day and instead of chicken I browned some ground Italian sausage and threw some fresh mushrooms in there as well. The rest of the recipe I followed as is....so good! I also put cheese on the outside of mine-big surprise!

Chicken Parmesan Stromboli


1 pound chicken breasts
salt
pepper
olive/vegetable oil
2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese
1 jar (28 oz is what I always have on hand) pasta sauce, divided
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon parsley
1 pound (1 ball) frozen bread dough-I buy a big bag of them at Meijer

Preheat oven to 400
1. Season chicken with salt and pepper. In a large skillet heat the oil over medium high heat and brown the chicken. Remove chicken from pan and let cool. Pull the chicken into large shreds...this takes a while for me.
2. In a medium bowl combine chicken, mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup of pasta sauce, parmesan cheese and parsley; set aside.
3. On a greased cookie sheet press dough to for a large rectangle. Poul chicken mixture down center of dough. Cover the chicken filing by bringing one long side then the other; overlap them and pinch together to seal. Fold the ends in and also pinch together to seal. CAREFULLY flip the roll so it is seam side down. Bake for 35 minutes or until dough is cooked and golden. cut into slices and serve with remaining pasta sauce.
(again, I added the mozzarella on the outside as well and some garlic salt and Italian seasoning.)

Homemade Baked Tortilla Chips

My family was coming over this past weekend to watch the Wings game on the big screen. Brad asked for these to go with the dips we would be making for gametime. I used to make this often as they are so easy and taste great! It also helps that we can choose how salty they are and whether we wanted them flavored.

Homemade Tortilla Chips


Soft Tortilla's (corn, flour, wheat-whatever you like)
Non Stick Cooking spray (PAM)
Salt, garlic salt-whatever seasoning you want to try.

1.Preheat Oven to 400.
2. Cut the Tortilla's into wedges, or whatever shape you want. Again, you decide how big and whatnot you would like them
3. Arrange them on a baking sheet being sure they don't over lap. Spray them lightly with the cooking spray and top with salt.
4. Bake for 4-8 minutes depending on how many you make. They should be crisp and beginning to brown. You don't want them too crunchy or hard!

(Ridiculously Easy!) Peach Crunch Cake

I guess some people call this a 'dump cake'. It would totally apply since that is basically the ONLY thing you need to do after measuring things! The first time I saw this recipe on one of the blogs I frequent I knew that I would try it out someday. We were having company two nights in a row for dinner so I literally threw this together. I loved it but will admit that it is VERY SWEET.

Peach Crunch Cake





24.5 oz can of sliced peaches in light syrup
1 box yellow cake mix
1 stick of butter cut in 16 slices
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup walnuts (I omitted this since a lot of the people couldn't eat them anyway)

Preheat oven to 350. In a 13x9 baking dish pour the peaches (syrup and all) in the bottom. I used a knife to cut the peach slices into smaller pieces once they were in the dish; made three pieces out of each sliced peach. Then pour the dry cake mix right on top of the peaches. Next, scatter the butter slices around on top of the cake mix. Lastly sprinkle the brown sugar over the top of everything. Bake for about 40 minutes. Serve hot or cold-I prefer hot. With or without ice cream-I say with!

Banana Nut Muffins

I had three bananas that were overripe...lots of brown on these peels. I was leaving town for two days and since I knew Brad wasn't going to eat them I wanted to use them. I searched lots of recipes and found one that people said was a lot like the Bob Evan's banana bread recipe. I didn't want bread so instead I upped the oven and made them into muffins that I can eat for breakfast or as a middday snack. They came out really good and were so moist I wasn't even sure they were done they were so soft. The recipe makes one loaf of bread or two dozen muffins; I have no idea who is going to eat them all! Ps. this calls for several untesils and bowls which means a bit more clean up. You've been warned.

Banana Nut Muffins


1 cup granulated sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, softened
2 eggs
3 very ripe bananas
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
I added nuts...would suggest walnuts but I had chopped pecans and they taste just as good.

Preheat oven to 325 (450 for muffins).

1. Cream the sugar and the butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time being sure to mix well after each one.
2. in a small bowl mash bananas with a fork. Mix in milk and cinnamon.
3. In another bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
4.Add the banana mixture to the creamed mixture and stir until combined. Add the dry ingredients and mix just until flour disappears. Stir in nuts at this point if you wish.
5. Pour into a loaf pan or lined muffin pan. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes for loaf or 15 minutes for muffins.

Creamy Chicken Alfredo

This is one of my favorite things to make and one of my favorite things that I make that I LOVE to eat :). I used to belong to this 'club' where I would get about 10 recipe cards every month for a small fee. I now have the entire collection and have tried MAYBE 5 recipes...this is one of them and have I mentioned I love it? I am going give you the real recipe with my notes in the parentheses. I make way more sauce than the recipe instructs you to. This sauce is great and instead of having just a little bit of cheese and cream left over after the recipe I use the whole package.

Creamy Chicken Alfredo


1/4 Cup Flour (I NEVER actually measure this out)
6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves ( I usually only have four since I generally freeze them in packs of two)
1/2 teaspoon of salt (again, NEVER actually measure this part either)
2 tablespoons plus one teaspoon olive oil, divided (guess what? Yep, I just eye ball it)
3 cloves garlic, minced (I have used both fresh and ready to use from the jar and I can't ever tell the difference)
1 tablespoon minced onion
1 1/2 cups whipping cream (I can only usually find it in the pint sized cartons-thats the smallest and like I said I use it all)
1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese (the bag is usually 1 1/4 cups and I use it all-so GOOD!)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley (YEAH RIGHT! I use the dried stuff in the jar)

Preheat oven to 375
1. If your chicken is thick, pound it between cellophane with either a meat mallet or a rolling pin. You want it about 1/2 inch or less in thickness. Put the flour in a pie dish or on a piece of wax paper. Coat both sides of chicken with flour. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken breasts, turn breasts once and cook until golden on each side; about 4 minutes each side. Remove chicken from skillet and put in a 13x9 inch baking dish.
2. Heat remaining olive oil in same skillet over medium heat until hot. Add garlic and onion; cook until garlic is fragrant and onion is tender-about 2 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and add whipping cream and cheese. Cook until the sauce is bubbly and slightly thick. Spoon over chicken in baking dish.
3. Bake chicken 8-12 minutes or until a instant read thermometer inserted in center of chicken reads 180 (yes, this I ACTUALLY do). Sprinkle with parsley.
(we serve ours over egg noodles and with garlic toast...delish)

Italian Crescent Casserole

Another one that sounded so easy and had bread on top. Anything topped with bread HAS to be good in my opinion. Again, I had everything in the house so: SCORE. I wasn't sure how this would turn out since Brad had mistakenly put my crescent rolls in the freezer the night before when unpacking our shopping bags. The can expressly warns against this but I got lucky and they didn't explode on me. They were actually easier to handle too so maybe the freezing had something to do with that. This looked kind of like lasagna when it was done and on our plates (very messy) but tasted MUCH better. Lasagna taste=YUCK. Double score was that this all went very fast and then I popped it in the oven.

Italian Crescent Casserole


1 lb ground beef
1/4 cup onion diced
1/2 cup pasta sauce
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1 can (8oz) crescent rolls
1/3 cup parmesan cheese, grated (I had shredded)
2 tbsp butter

Preheat oven to 375
1. in a large skillet brown the ground beef and onions. Drain.
2. Add pasta sauce to skillet
3. In a bowl combine mozzarella and sour cream
4. pour meat mixture into a 9x13 pan
5. spoon cheese/sour cream mixture on top of meat mixture
6. Unroll crescent rolls but do not separate. Lay on top of casserole.
7. Melt the butter and brush it on top of the crescent rolls. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top. Bake for 18-25 minutes or until golden brown.

I wasn't originally going to post a picture of it once it was cut since mine came out so messy (I don't think I drained it well enough) but here it is anyways:

The picture in the blog I found this in was WAY better. You can take a look HERE

Cheesy Chicken skillet

My husband LOVES pasta. I mean L-O-V-E-S pasta. I can go into almost any restaurant and look at the menu and tell you what he'll order. Only ALMOST though. He likenend this recipe to his favorite dish at Applebee's-the chicken penne pasta or three cheese chicken penne whatever it's called. This was so simple and it was all cooked in one pan. Two if you count the one for the pasta but those are easy to clean up when you're done. Both Brad and I agree that next time I am going to try and put some mozzarella IN with everything else at the end to give it a cheesier taste. We'll still put it on at the end though too. Brad's from Wisconsin: we LOVE cheese too. Anyways, I found this one on yet another food blog I read and it is sooooo easy plus I already had everything in the house.

Cheesy Chicken Skillet


2 cups of pasta (I use radiatore)
3/4 lbs. chicken cubed (I probably used more since our chicken breasts were HUGE)
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can diced tomatoes (I didn't have any that didn't have chiles in them but I did have three fresh tomatoes so I diced those up)
1 1/2 cups of milk
1 tbsp basil
1 tbsp oregano
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella

1. cook pasta as directed.
2. in a large skillet over medium high heat cook the chicken untili no longer pink
3. reduce heat to medium and add tomatoes, soup, milk and seasonings.
4. stir in the cooked pasta. Let cook for about 8 minutes stirring occasionally until heated through and bubbly.
5. Sprinkle with cheese before serving.

Red Lobster Rolls

These are so easy to make and they taste pretty darn close to the real thing. If you've never had these rolls then you are missing out! I make this to go with almost anything.

Red Lobster Rolls


2 cups Bisquick mix
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2/3 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon parsley

Preheat oven to 450
1. Mix all ingredients just until moist.
2. drop onto greased cookie sheet...works best if you leave them as blobs and not form them into balls.
3. Bake for about 8 minutes or until golden
4. melt about a tablespoon of butter and add a dash more of garlic powder and spread on top of rolls before serving.

Mexican Stuffed Shells

It used to be when I wanted mexican food we made tacos. Then, I found this recipe on another blog. Brad and I both loved it the first time we had it. One day while he and my dad were doing a home project I heated up the leftovers from the night before. My dad raved about them and ended up taking some more home for his lunch the next day. If you like Mexican food but want a change from tacos, try this.

Mexican Stuffed Shells


Approx. 16 large pasta shells
1 pound ground meat of your choice
1 packet taco seasoning
4 oz cream cheese softened
1 cup salsa
1 cup taco sauce
2 cups shredded cheese (I use cheddar or a taco blend)
green onions (optional)
sour cream to top

Preheat oven to 350
1. Begin boiling water for the pasta shells in a large pot. While the water boils, in a skillet brown the meat and then add the taco seasoning; prepare according to seasoning package directions.
2. Add the cream cheese and simmer until the cheese is completely melted. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.
3.In the pot of boiling water prepare pasta shells as you would any pasta. When they are done lay them out on a paper towel lined counter. I have a large plastic cutting board and that works great for me. You want them to cool separated so they don't stick to each other so make sure they don't touch.
4.Pour salsa into the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Spoon some of the meat mixture into the pasta shells. Place the shells in the bakind dish open side up. Cover the shells with the taco sauce.
5. Cover dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
6. After 30 minutes remove the foil and add the shredded cheese to the top of the shells.Bake for 10-15 more minutes or until the cheese melts.
7. Top with green onion if you wish and serve with sour cream to finish it off.

Best Ever Pasta Salad

I grew up with the traditional pasta salad of noodles, tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers all covered in creamy italian dressing. As an adult it is blah to me. This one is awesome and more filling and the guys love it! I found it on one of the blogs I read and saved it after one time making it :) The following recipe makes a LOT in my opinion so you may want to halve it.

Antipasto Pasta Salad


1 pound of whatever noodle shape you like (I use elbow or radiatore)
1/4 pound of hard salami-chopped
1/4 pound pepperoni-chopped
1/2 pound Asiago cheese-chopped (you will find it in the specialty cheese cooler)
1 red pepper diced
1 green pepper diced
3 tomatoes diced (I use smaller ones since I don't care for them as much)
1 7oz. dry Italian Dressing mix packet (with the other dressing/sauce packets)
Parmesan cheese
Garlic Powder

You just cook and drain the pasta and transfer it to a large bowl. It helps if the bowl has a lid. Add the meats, cheese and veggies and mix a bit. Pour the Italian Dressing mix on top and mix well. The add a couple of shakes of the garlic and parmesan cheese and mix again. If the bowl has a lid put it on and then shake the whole thing each time you add something and it is so easy to finish! The salad is best if you chill it for at least an hour before eating it.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

I must admit I made this for the first time last night. LOVED IT!!! Oh my goodness was it full of spice and flavor! I think this is the recipe that finally pushed me over the edge and got me to start blogging about them. We love buffalo chicken anything and this tasted just like our favorite wings. Brad and I both enjoyed it and it is completely gone now. If you don't like buffalo sauce that much then start by adding just a little bit of the sauce and tasting before adding more.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza


1 ball frozen pizza dough
1 pound ground chicken
8oz cream cheese softened
1/2 cup Ranch Dressing
1/4 cup Hot Sauce (I use Frank's Red Hot)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400. On a lightly greased pizza pan (or use a pizza stone if you have one)roll out/toss/stretch out the pizza dough. I use cornmeal on the counter to help keep things less sticky when stretching out the dough. Cook the dough in the oven for 10 minutes but it shouldn't brown yet. Meanwhile brown the chicken on the stovetop in a large skillet. Once it is brown add the cream cheese, hot sauce and ranch dressing. When the pizza dough is done, spoon the chicken mixture into the center and spread it around. Top with the cheddar cheese and cook it in the oven for another five minutes or until the crust is crispy and cheese is melted.

And so it begins....

I love to cook. My husband loves to eat and has a healthy appetite. A better match could never be found. When I married all those years ago :) I knew that I would take over cooking at la casa de Borek about 99% of the time. I came armed with several tried and true recipes from my entire life that I knew I liked and could make. With a picky appetite such as mine (I hate Thanksgiving dinner) I was also hoping to add to my recipe stash with some fresh meat so to speak. I started following several food blogs and have had great luck with my finds. I don't want to brag but I am a good cook and Brad enjoys it immensely. I decided to do this because I'm crazy. Yes, with a new baby I don't have much time but I thought this would make for an excellent catalog for me to find my favorite foods quick as well as share them with people. I have had requests for my recipes before and this seems the easiest way to get them to people. And, in the next year or so I will have to start finding kid friendly and nutritious meals to add to my recipe box so I hope to maybe network some of those out of this. So, please join me in my culinary adventures-Happy Eating!