Super easy chicken chili

I posted a chicken chili recipe way back in January. It had a lot of ingredients and although it was fairly easy to make still took some time. This new one I made last night was so easy only has a few ingredients and was really good! I evan got Ellie and Tanner to eat it with only a small amount of bribing.

2 jars 16 oz picante sauce
2 cans rinsed and drained nothern beans
4 cups cooked and cubed chicken breast
1-2 tsp gound cumin

Put all ingredients in a large pot. Bring to boil, lower heat, cover and let simmer for 20 minutes. The girls had fun topping theirs with cheese. For me I added a ton of veggies...mushrooms,green peppers, tomatoes, white onion,and cilantro.

We ate it with a loaf of french bread, but chips would be good also.

Dualing Sauces

Each different...both delicious, depending on what you are in the mood for.



Italian Tomato Sauce

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped (1/2 cup)
2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 cans (16 oz. each) whole tomatoes, undrained
2 cans (8 oz. each) tomato sauce
2 Tbsp chopped fresh or 2 tsp dried basil leaves
1 Tbsp chopped fresh or 1 tsp dried oregano leaves
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fennel seed (we didn't have this so we left it out--still good)
1/4 tsp pepper

Heat oil in 3-quart saucepan over medium heat. Cook onion, bell pepper and garlic in oil about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in remaining ingredients, breaking up tomatoes. Heat to boiling; reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 45 minutes.

***Side note--we made these meatballs with ground turkey instead of ground beef and they were still quite tasty***




Alfredo Sauce

1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup whipping (heavy cream)
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp salt
Dash of pepper

***Lighter Version
Decrease margarine to 1/3 cup. Substitute evaporated milk for the whipping cream, and use reduced fat parmesan cheese blend.

Heat margarine and whipping cream in 2-quart saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until margarine is melted. Stir in cheese, salt, and pepper.

Ashlynn still prefers her plain old macaroni and cheese and could probably eat it for every meal. Right now the challenge is just to keep her from giving her food away to Nixon.

Easy Dinner

So I thought about just letting Michelle's recipe count for mine tonight, but because I was sick last week and did not post anything I figured I would put on what I made for dinner tonight.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Pull Frescheta Pizza (or any other frozen pizza)out of the freezer
Put pizza on pizza stone or pizza pan
Bake for 18-23 min
Enjoy a yummy pizza


Sometimes it is nice to just have a chill night and not stress about cooking. That is about how I was feeling tonight. Plus clean up is really easy. I promise next week I will put up a real recipe.
(Don't worry, my girls had spaghetti with veggie noodles. They eat much better than I do.)

BBQ Chicken Wraps

Sorry for being late, yesterday was a weird day. Anyway, the other day I was at the grocery store and noticed some spinach tortillas. I thought I would try them, and they were really delicious. This isn't a precise recipe, but here's what I did.

I took 2 chicken breasts, cut them up into cubes and grilled them.When the chicken was cooked I poured in some BBQ sauce and let it simmer for a minute.
Next I took the tortilla, put some sour cream, olives, tomatoes, and lettuce like a burrito. Added the chicken and some cheese and a tiny tiny bit of ranch. Andy had more ranch than me.
Then I wrapped it up and ate it! It was delicious with baked chips and cottage cheese.

I was surprised at how great they turned out, and we will be making them again soon!

Sheena's meatloaf

Sheena just tried this meatloaf and got the thumbs up from her family. Thanks for sharing with us Sheena!!

For a full pound of meat

1 lb of burger or ground turkey
1/2 cup of oatmeal
1/2 cup of bread crumbs
1/2 cup of ketchup
1/2 cup of original BBQ sauce
2 eggs
onion
garlic
basil,oregano,garlic powder,onion salt and pepper

Mix all ingredients together and bake at 350 degrees for 45minutes to an hour(until cooked thoroughly)

Mom puts her meat loaf on a baking rack then in the pan and bakes it. It helps keep the meatloaf from getting soggy

Low Fat High Protein Pancakes

Annie gave me this healthy pancake recipe. It looks so easy and she said it is really good!

1 cup low fat cottage cheese
1 cup egg whites
1 cup oats

Blend all the ingredients in blender
Cook like regular pancakes, they just take a little longer to cook

Dreamy Pudding Dessert

These two things are all I need to feel like I'm in heaven--my beautiful little girl and a yummy chocolate dessert. This one is truly amazing!





First Layer:
1 cup flour
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter (no substitutes)
3 Tbsp. powdered sugar

Cream flour, butter, and sugar together; press into greased 9x13-inch pan. Bake 350 degrees about 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool completely.

Second Layer:
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
1 carton (12 oz.) frozen whipped topping, divided

Combine cream cheese with sugar, blending thoroughly. Stir in 1 cup of the frozen topping. Spread over well-cooled butter crust.

Third Layer:
3 cups milk
1 large pkg. instant pudding (milk chocolate) OR 1 small pkg. chocolate and 1 small pkg. vanilla for a lighter chocolate flavor.

Mix milk with instant pudding, following directions for beating on package. Spread over cream cheese layer.

Fourth Layer:
Spread reserved frozen whipped topping over all. Sprinkle with sliced almonds and grated chocolate (or you can use a vegetable parer to make chocolate curls). Chill until ready to serve.

Oatmeal and Wheat Flour Blueberry Pancakes

Andy and I love pancakes on Saturday mornings, but we are really trying to eat healthy so I found this recipe and am going to give it a try this weekend.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
• 2 cups soy milk
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup frozen blueberries

**I would use Buttermilk instead of Soy Milk. There was also the suggestion to add a little vanilla for some extra flavor.

Directions

1. Preheat a lightly oiled griddle over medium heat.
2. In a large bowl, mix whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt.
3. In a small bowl, mix oats and soy milk. Whisk in eggs and olive oil. Pour into the flour mixture all at once. Continue mixing until smooth. Gently fold in blueberries.
4. Pour batter about 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared griddle. Cook 1 to 2 minutes, until bubbly. Flip, and continue cooking until lightly browned

Recipe courtesy of allrecipes.com

Strawberry Cheesecake Icecream

This one is for Sarah and Michelle. They both have icecream makers and love to use them!!!

3 cups sliced strawberries
6 ounces reduced fat cream cheese
2 cans (12 ounces each) fat free evaporated milk
1 can (14 ounces) fat free sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup reduced fat whipped topping

1-Place strawberries in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. In a large mixing bowl beat cream cheese until smooth. Add evaporated milk and condensed milk, vanilla and pureed strwberries; mix well, fold in whipped toping

2-Fill the cylinder of icecream freezer 2/3 full; freeze according to manufacturer's directions. Refrigerate remaining mixture until ready to freeze. Allow to ripen in icecream freezer or firm up in your refrigerator freezer for 2-4 hours before serving

Rasberry Cream Smoothie

I found this smoothie recipe in Guilt Free Cookbook that I stole from Mom. I can't wait to make it for Ellie and Tanner, they love smoothies ecspecially pink ones :)!

2 cups orange juice
2 cups fat free reduced sugar rasberry yogurt
2 cups vanilla frozen yogurt
2 small ripe bananas, cut into chunks and frozen ( 1cup)
3 cups frozen rasberries
2 tsp vanilla extract

Put ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend. Stir if necessary. Pour into chilled glasses. Serve immediately

Creamy Chicken Italiano

There really isn't much to say about this recipe other than it is one of Casey's favorites. It is from the Fix-it and Forget-it cookbook which is an entire cookbook just for crock pots. We love it! Below are 2 samples of plate presentation for this dish. I'll bet you can't tell which one is Casey's and which is mine!

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts

1 envelope dry Italian salad dressing mix

1/4 cup water

8-oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened

10 3/4-oz. can cream of chicken soup

Directions:

1. Place chicken in slow cooker.

2. Combine salad dressing mix and water. Pour over chicken.

3. Cover. Cook on low 3 hours.

4. Combine cheese and soup until blended. Pour over chicken.

5. Cover. Cook on low 1 hour, or until chicken is done.

6. Serve over noodles, rice, or potatoes.

***BONUS RECIPE***

PARMESAN BREAD

We started making bread this way because we didn't have anything for garlic bread and now we make it like this all the time. All you do is spread butter over a thick slice of french bread, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and grill face down on a griddle. Amazing stuff!

Just For Fun!!! Ashlynn loves her spoons!

Cheesy Beef Burritos

This is a recipe I found on Kraft Foods. It looks really good and I cannot wait to try it. I would leave out a few things but the entire recipe looks good.
(Becasue I got this off the Kraft website they obviously added their brands. Odd are good I will not be using these brands)

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. extra lean ground beef

2 tsp. chili powder

1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained, rinsed

1/2 cup TACO BELL® HOME ORIGINALS® Thick 'N Chunky Salsa

2/3 cup KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese

4 flour tortillas (10 inch)

1/4 cup BREAKSTONE'S Reduced Fat or KNUDSEN Light Sour Cream

1 tomato, chopped

1 cup shredded romaine lettuce

Directions:

COOK meat and chili powder in large skillet on medium-high heat 5 min. or until meat is no longer pink, stirring frequently. Add beans and salsa; cook 5 min. or until heated through, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Stir in cheese.

SPREAD meat mixture down centers of tortillas; top with remaining ingredients.

FOLD in opposite sides of each tortilla, then roll up burrito-style.

Pasta Salad

A girl made this from my work and brought it to a company party. She pretty much adds anything she wants, but basically she...

Ingredients:

Pasta
Cherry Tomatoes
Cubed Chicken
Cubed Cheese
Black Olives
Diced Onion
Bottle of Italian Dressing

She just throws everything together in a big bowl and tosses it in the Italian Dressing. I wish I had measurements for you, but she told me she just eyeballs it. It is very tasty!

Angel Lush Cake

1 pkg of fat free vanilla instant pudding
1 20 oz can of crushed pineapple in juice,undrained
1 cup thawed cool whip
1 angel food cake

mix pineapple and pudding in bowl. Gently stir in cool whip

cut angel food cake into three layers

Place bottom cake layer cut side down on serving plate. Spread 1&1/3 cups of pudding mixture onto cake layer; cover with middle layer of cake. Spread one cup of pudding mix onto middle cake layer; top with the remaining cake layer. Spread remaining pudding mixture on top of cake

Refrigerate at least one hour or until ready to serve

You can garnish with straberries to make it look pretty and add a splash of color

Baked Apples

Baked Apples

4 big cooking apples (Golden Delicious,Rome or Granny Smith)
1T of butter
1/4C of brown sugar
1/4C of raisins
1/4C of chopped walnuts (Sarah can leave these out)
1tsp of cinnamon

Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Wash and core apples leaving about an inch at the bottom intact so they are not hallow throughout. Mix other ingredients together. Stuff apples with mixture, place apples in a roasting tray with an inch of hot water covering the bottoms. Bake for 40 minutes. Serve warm with anything ....ice cream,yogurt or cool whip

Rainbow Jello

Okay, with all the moving that's been going on I've really been struggling keeping track of my days and I'm sorry for missing the last couple of weeks. Now that the move is over I am back in the saddle again with recipes. This is a fun recipe that I like to make for Easter.

Ingredients:

1 3-oz. box Jello of each:

Grape

Blueberry

Lime

Lemon

Orange

Strawberry

*You can substitute any of the jello flavors, the important thing is to have all the colors of the rainbow.

1 24-oz. sour cream

Cool whip (I like whipped cream better)

Directions:

Dissolve package of grape Jello in 1 c. boiling water. Divide mixture in half. Add 3 T. cold water to one half. Mix and pour into 9 x 13-inch baking dish and chill until firm. Meanwhile, add 1/3 c. sour cream to other half of Jello. Set aside until first layer is set. Pour this mixture over chilled Jello layer and chill until set. Start with grape and continue the same steps using each flavor of Jello in the order listed above. Top with Cool Whip and open wide!

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Pizza Dough again

Hi It's MaryAnne I am taking Jessie's day (with permission) and reposting Mom's pizza dough recipe. So Hackings here you go.....



Ingredients



1C plus 2T of warm water

2T of oil (I use all natural applesauce)

3C of flour

1T of sugar

1tsp of salt

2 1/2tsp of yeast (I use one packet of quick rise yeast)


mix the warm water,yeast,sugar and set aside. Put the rest of ingredients in mixing bowl add water mixture and mix. Roll dough out on to pizza stone and let rise for about 15 min. Top with favorite sauce and toppings. Bake for 20 mins at 350 degrees

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

Andy's birthday is about a month away and I'm trying to figure out what to make for his birthday cake. He loves cheesecake, and usually I just go to Costco and get some frozen cheesecake bites, but I decided to try a bunch of different cheesecake recipes and make it for him. This was attempt number 2. The first was Grandma Vanderhoef's cheesecake, which I think Andy liked better. This recipe is amazing though. So delicious!!

Ingredients

1 cup chocolate cookie crumbs
3 tablespoons white sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 (10 ounce) package frozen raspberries
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 cup water
2 cups white chocolate chips
1/2 cup half-and-half cream
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

In a medium bowl, mix together cookie crumbs, 3 tablespoons sugar, and melted butter.

Press mixture into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan.

In a saucepan, combine raspberries, 2 tablespoons sugar, cornstarch, and water. Bring to boil, and continue boiling 5 minutes, or until sauce is thick. Strain sauce through a mesh strainer to remove seeds.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). In a metal bowl over a pan of simmering water, melt white chocolate chips with half-and-half, stirring occasionally until smooth.

In a large bowl, mix together cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time. Blend in vanilla and melted white chocolate.

Pour half of batter over crust. Spoon 3 tablespoons raspberry sauce over batter. Pour remaining cheesecake batter into pan, and again spoon 3 tablespoons raspberry sauce over the top. Swirl batter with the tip of a knife to create a marbled effect.

Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until filling is set. Cool, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 8 hours before removing from pan. Serve with remaining raspberry sauce.

**For the crust, I used two cups of oreo cookie crumbs, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and 1/4 Cup of butter. I also doubled the raspberry sauce.

Recipe is courtesy of allrecipes.com

Basic Sweet Bread

Here is Mom's sweet bread recipe. This is what she uses for her amazing cinnamon rolls!!! Wish me luck! Since Mom is not around this weekend to make cinnamon rolls I am going to attempt it for the first time.

Ingredients
1/4C butter
1tsp salt
1/4c sugar
1c milk,scalded and cooled to lukewarm
1 package yeast, active dry or compressed
1/4c warm water
1 egg slightly beaten
About 4c regular all purose flour
softened butter


Place butter,salt and sugar in large bowl; add lukewarm milk,stirring to dissolve the sugar and salt and to melt the butter. Soften the yeast in warm water add along with beaten egg, to the milk mixture. Stir in 3 1/2 cups of flour. 1 cup at a time beating vigorously to blend. Scrape dough from the sides of the bowl and brush the top of the dough and sides of bowl with softened butter. Cover dough and let rise in a warm place about 2 hours or until almost doubled in bulk. Then turn out on a well floured board and knead lightly, adding flour until dough is no longer sticky (do not use more than 1/4 to 1/2 cup flour on the board) Shape and bake at 350 until golden brown

Scotcharoos

These are my favorite!!!! I have absolutely no self control when it comes to scotcharoos. Watch out, when you make these it is impossible to stop at just one or five:)!!!


1C sugar
1C corn syrup
1C peanut butter
1/2 package chocolate chips
1/2 package butterscotch chips
6 cups rice krispies

In a pot melt the sugar and corn syrup until bubbles apear. Add peanut butter and stir. Once mixed add the rice krispies and stir well. Place rice krispies in a greased 9x13 pan and press down until even. In a double broiler or a microwave bowl melt the chocolate chips and butterscotch chips. Pour chocolate and butterscotch mixture over top of kripies and let cool