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.