Cheesy Chicken & Broccoli Rice Casserole

1/2 onion diced

1 lb of boneless skinless chicken (breasts or tenders)

Salt & Pepper

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
1 1/3 cups water

1 can cheddar cheese soup

1 can of milk (using the empty cheddar cheese soup can)

1 cup uncooked regular long-grain white rice

1/2 small bag of frozen broccoli

1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (Mild)

Preheat the oven to 375. Salt and pepper the chicken pieces and cook them in a skillet with the diced onion in a little bit of water with the lid on (to make the chicken really tender). When the chicken is cooked through, take it out and let it rest. (You can either add the onions to the soup mixture of discard them -- depending on how strong you want the onion flavor to be; i discarded them).

Mix the two cans of soup, water, and milk together until smooth. Dice the chicken into small cubes. Into the soup mixture, fold in the chicken, broccoli, and rice together and add in more salt & pepper. Pour into 9 x 13 x 2 pan that had been sprayed with nonstick spray. Bake for 45 minutes. At the end of 45 minutes, sprinkle the top with the shredded cheddar cheese and bake for a few more minutes until melted and bubbly.

Pizziti - Pizza & Baked Ziti ~ A new twist!

1 box Penne Pasta

1 small pack of pepperoni

1/2 pound of mild italian sausage

1 pound of ground beef

1 small onion (diced)

1/2 green bell pepper (diced)

1 can of mushrooms or 1/2 cup of fresh baby bellas

1 jar of spaghetti sauce

1 jar of pizza sauce (Very important - do NOT substitute with spaghetti sauce -- it changes everything!!)

16 oz of shredded motzerella cheese

Cook your pasta until its almost tender.

In a pan, saute your pepperoni and take it out after it gets just crisp. Do NOT over cook it. Drain the pepperoni on paper towels and pat dry. (Omitting this step will cause your dish to be too greasy ~ so its very important – don't skip it!!)

In the pepperoni grease, cut the sausage from the casing and break it up with the ground beef and brown them. Drain the grease and add in onion, bell peppers, and mushrooms and saute until the vegetables are just tender.

In a large bowl, add in the drained cooked pasta and the meat mixture and the jars of sauce. Fold in half of your cheese and most of your pepperoni. Pour into a baking dish and sprinkle with the remaining cheese and the remaining pepperoni. Bake for 30 minutes at 350! Enjoy!

You can add anything you like to this that you enjoy on pizza (i.e. olives, jalapenos, ham, anything…)

Cheesy Chicken Crescent Casserole

3 pieces of chicken (boiled with salt/pepper + 2 tbsp butter and shredded)
1 can (8 oz size) refrigerated crescent rolls
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/3 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350F

Separate crescent dough into triangles. Place about 3 Tbsp chicken on wide end of each triangle and roll to opposite point. Place all 8 spaced evenly in the bottom of a baking dish (either a 9 x 9 dish or a glass casserole dish) sprayed with nonstick spray. Bake for about 15 minutes or until the crescents start to turn golden brown.

In a bowl, mix the soup and milk together until creamy. (You may need to microwave for up to 1 minute to make it pourable). Pour the soup mixture over the crescents stuffed with chicken and bake for 30 minutes.

During the last five minutes, remove the dish from the oven and sprinkle with cheese. Pull out whenever the cheese is JUST melted and enjoy!

Mexican Lasagna

THIS IS A DOUBLE RECIPE AND MAY
BE HALFED FOR JUST ONE 9 X 13 PAN
OF MEXICAN LASAGNA

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 pounds ground turkey
• 1 large can of refried beans
• 1/4 cup of water
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 packet of taco seasoning *powder* (mild or medium depending on your taste)
• 1 sweet onion (chopped finely)
• 1 large can of crushed tomatoes
• 1 (8 oz) jar of taco sauce *liquid* (mild or medium depending on your taste)
• 2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed until water runs clear
• 1 small bag of frozen corn
• 1 bag of burrito sized flour tortillas
• 4 (8 oz packages) shredded cheese (2 fiesta blend cheese & 2 mild cheddar)
• 2 scallions, finely chopped
• Sour cream

1. Preheat the oven to 350
2. Preheat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil – twice around the pan. Add turkey and onion. Brown the meat and onion mixture. (Drain if necessary)
3. Add the crushed tomatoes, taco seasoning, taco sauce, black beans and corn. Heat the mixture through and simmer a couple of minutes.
4. In a separate pan, take the large can of refried beans and add the olive oil and water. Mash them with a potato masher or something similar and stir until they are spreadable.
5. Coat a 9 x 13 baking dishes with remaining extra-virgin olive oil.
6. Cut the tortillas in quarters.
7. Layer as follows: (From the bottom up) - Olive oil to coat the pan. . . Then: meat sauce, cheese, tortilla, beans, meat sauce, cheese, tortilla, beans, meat sauce, cheese, tortilla, cheese.
8. Bake lasagna 12 to 15 minutes until cheese is brown and bubbly.
9. Cook for 10 minutes and top with scallions and sour cream.

This is a Racheal Ray adaption. Her method - I of course adapted it to fit MY family's taste! So this is my recipe from her method! This is always a HUGE hit and makes great left overs!

You could omit the refried beans layer and use ground chicken and have HER recipe -- or you could also add olives, peppers, etc and make it your OWN~ but I prefer it just the way I usually make it!

Mexican Chicken Pasta

• 3 cups bow tie pasta, uncooked
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1-1/4 lb.), cut into strips
• 1/2 lb. (8 oz.) Velveeta cheese, cut up
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 cup Thick 'N Chunky Salsa
• 1/4 cup milk

1. COOK pasta in large saucepan as directed on package; drain. Return to saucepan.
2. SPRAY large skillet with cooking spray. Add chicken; cook and stir 4 to 5 minutes or until cooked through.
3. ADD to pasta in saucepan along with the remaining ingredients; cook on low heat until VELVEETA is melted, stirring occasionally.
   

Homemade Chicken Alfredo

• 1 (8 ounce) box of fettuccine
• 1 package of non-breaded chicken tenders or boneless skinless breasts
• 1 tbsp of olive oil (used only if cooking chicken in a skillet on the stove)
• 1 stick of butter
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 + 1/2 cups grated/shredded Parmesan cheese.
• 1 cup of motzerella cheese
• 1 tub of cream cheese
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1/8 tsp ground black pepper (I would NOT use fresh cracked for this recipe)
• Chopped fresh parsley for garnish (optional) - (Garnish with FRESH herbs ONLY. DO NOT garnish with dried. The flavor would be too overbearing to use dried parsley flakes)

1. Cook fettuccine according to directions on the package.
2. Brown chicken (cut into bite-sized pieces) in the olive oil OR grill them on an indoor grill (i.e. George Foreman grill). After they're done, let them rest for a few minutes before you slice them into bite-sized pieces to keep them juicy.
3. While fettuccine is cooking, add in the heavy cream and butter into a sauce pan and stir until its hot and bubbly and the butter has completely melted. Add in the salt & pepper and the cheeses and stir until completely melted. This part may take a while - but be patient, its well worth the wait!
4. Cook pasta until its tender and drain.
5. Pour cooked pasta and chicken into a bowl and drizzle over it the white sauce and fold thoroughly until every tender morsel is coated in this YUMMY sauce!
6. Garnish with parsley if you feel its completely necessary. Usually the only garnish I need is some extra parmesan cheese on top! Enjoy!

Okay okay..... I know this is an incredibly sinful recipe, so I put a less guilty version. Replace the five purple ingredients above with these five purple ingredients below. The method is the same.

1/3 cup margarine
1/2 cup evaporated fat-free milk
3/4 cup grated reduced-fat Parmesan cheese blend
3/4 cup of reduced fat motz. cheese
1 canister of fat free cream cheese

This is a very versatile recipe. Feel free to add peas or broccoli, substitute the chicken with shrimp or a mixture of both, and you can also switch up the type of pasta you use, from fettuccini to rotini, penne, or whatever you like!   

Cavatini

• 1 lb of ground hamburger meat (browned and drained well)
• 3 mild italian sausage links (either browned in the casing and sliced OR squeezed out of the casing and browned with the hamburger)
• 1 pound of pasta (rigatoni, elbow macaroni, penne, or shells) (cooked al dente - still a little firm)
• 1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
• 1 (32 oz) can of tomato sauce (puree)
• 1 onion (chopped to your preference)
• 1 tsp of italian seasoning (oregano & thyme combination) OR 1 tsp of oregano
• 1 tsp basil
• 1 tsp of garlic powder
• 4 good four-finger pinches of sugar (using thumb and first three fingers ~ it helps to cut the acidity in the tomato puree)
• 1 small can of mushrooms (drained)
• 2 (8 oz) bags of shredded cheese (1 italian blend & 1 mozzarella)
• 1 tbsp of olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Put on a pot of water to boil and put a lid on it (Water boils faster when it has a lid on it)
3. While waiting for the pasta water to boil - In a large skillet, brown the italian sausage and hamburger together with the onion at medium to high heat. Usually about the same time the meat gets brown, the water is usually boiling.
4. When the pot of water comes to a boil add a pinch of salt but no oil. (Adding oil to pasta while its cooking causes the pasta itself to also becoming oily and prevents sauce from sticking to the pasta) - Boil the pasta until JUST BEFORE its done and the pasta is still firm (al dente).
5. Lower the heat. Add in the spaghetti sauce, tomato sauce, herbs (spices), sugar, and mushrooms. Let them simmer until the pasta is al dente.
6. When the pasta gets done, ladle out 1/2 cup of pasta water into the sauce, and then drain it well.
7. Dump pasta into a big mixing bowl. Fold in the sauce/meat mixture.
8. Fold in 1/2 of each bag of cheese.
9. Grease 9 x 13 pan using 1 tbsp of olive oil and spread around with a paper towel.
10. Pour pasta mixture into the pan and top with the remaining cheese.
11. Cover with aluminum foil and cook for 25-30 minutes.
    

*KITCHEN TIP*

Spray the underside of the aluminum foil that will be covering the dish with non-stick cooking spray. It helps to prevent all the cheese from peeling off the top of the dish and stuck to the tin foil after its done baking.

Also, when covering a pan of tomato-based pasta with aluminum foil, make sure it doesn't lay directly on top of it ~ Tent it a tad bit.

Pot Roast

• 4-5 lb roast (Options are shoulder, rump, chuck, or bottom round)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Steak seasoning (the dry spice; Just shake on to taste ~ optional)
• 6 cloves of garlic or 3/4 tsp of garlic powder
• 1 onion (chopped to your preference) OR a half a bag of pearl onions
• 1 cup frozen peas (optional) (They do sell a small bag of peas and pearl onions combined that is perfect for this)
• 2 carrots (peeled and chopped to bite-sized pieces)
• 2 stalks of celery (washed and chopped to bite-sized pieces ~ optional)
• 6 red new potatoes (cut into quarters) OR 4 russet potatoes (peeled and chopped to bite-sized pieces) OR 2 large baking potatoes (peeled and chopped to bite-sized pieces)
• 1-2 cup of water or beef broth

1. Add in the water and spices and mix it together BEFORE you add in the meat and veggies. (You want to season the liquid that will steam everything else and infuse the flavor throughout the whole dish as you cook it).
2. Dump everything else into the crockpot.
3. Cook on HIGH setting and let it cook at least 6 hours OR on LOW setting overnight (at least 8-10 hours).

Crockpot Chili

• 1-2 pounds of ground hamburger (May be substituted for chicken or turkey or completely omitted or even a meat substitute for vegetarian version)


• 1 lb of cooked pinto beans (Leftovers are PERFECT for this recipe)


• 1 can of tomato paste


• 1 onion (chopped to your preference)


• 1 bell pepper (chopped to your preference) *optional*


• 1 (15 oz) can of tomato sauce


• 1 tbsp of Chili Powder


• 1 tbsp of Cumen


• 1 (15 oz) can of stewed tomatos (celery, onion, and pepper flavored is preferred)


• 2 packets of chili seasoning

1. Brown the ground meat and drain. Sit aside.


2. Add into cold crockpot, all canned ingredients.


3. Stir in the seasoning and spices.


4. Fold in browned hamburger meat and add to crock pot.


5. Cook on LOW setting overnight stirring before you go to bed and when you wake up in the morning. Keep warm until ready to serve.


6. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and green onions if you want.
   

Always remember - you can more spice in but cannot take it out if you put in too much. You can cut the acidity from the acid in the tomatos with a spoonful of sugar or two and can cut the heat in the chili and spices with a dollop of sour cream stirred in and/or some shredded cheese.

BBQ Chicken

• 1 package of boneless/skinless chicken breasts
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 1 bottle of "Honey" flavored BBQ sauce
• 1/2 of a sweet onion (chopped to your preference)

1. Salt and pepper raw chicken to taste.
2. Place into crockpot with onions and BBQ sauce.
3. Put on the lid and cook on HIGH setting 1-2 hours and then turn down on LOW setting until ready to eat.

**PLEASE NOTE**

White meat cooks quicker than dark meat.

Boneless meat cooks quicker than bone-in meat.

The same with pork ~ Bone-in takes takes longer to cook than boneless.

White meat: Wings & Breasts

Dark meat: Legs & Thighs

For example: A bone-in thigh would take longer to cook than a bone-in breast even though its smaller.

If you choose to use dark meat instead of white meat, or bone-in instead of boneless, you'll need to cook your chicken on HIGH setting longer than 1-2 hours. Instead, your cooking time will need to be 2-3 hours on HIGH or 5-6 hours on LOW setting.

Here is the general rule for crockpots as far as the age-old question:

To preheat or NOT to preheat?

You put COLD food into a COLD crockpot.
You put HOT food into a HOT crockpot.

BBQ Pork Chops

• 1 package of boneless pork chops
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 bottle of "Original" flavor BBQ sauce
• 1/2 of a sweet onion (chopped to your preference)

1. Salt and pepper raw porkchops to taste.
2. Place into crockpot with onions and BBQ sauce.
3. Put on the lid and cook on HIGH setting 1-2 hours and then turn down on LOW setting until ready to eat.

Here is the general rule for crockpots as far as the age-old question:

To preheat or NOT to preheat?

You put COLD food into a COLD crockpot.

You put HOT food into a HOT crockpot.

BBQ Pulled Pork

• 1 Pork Roast
• 1 bottle of "Hickory" flavored BBQ sauce.
• Crockpot

1. Simmer on Low 3-4 hours.
2. Shred with a fork and serve either on a bun as a pulled pork sandwich. Also great on a baked potato with butter, sour cream, cheese, and chives.

Here is the general rule for crockpots as far as the age-old question:

To preheat or NOT to preheat?

You put COLD food into a COLD crockpot.

You put HOT food into a HOT crockpot.

Tomato Pie

• Package of Individual unbaked pie crusts (they are small, personal size)
• Regular can of diced tomatoes (garlic, basil, oregano flavored)
• Finely chopped green onion
• Small bell pepper
• Shredded sharp and mozzarella cheese

Take four individual unbaked pie crusts (they're tiny). Heat oven to 350 and pre-bake the pie crusts for 8 minutes.

While they're baking, take a regular sized can of diced tomatoes (garlic, basil, and oregano flavored) and drain/squish out all of the water (without damaging your tomatoes)

Add in one (finely chopped) green onion

Finely chop two 1/2' slices of bell pepper (you know -- you core it and slice the hull from top to bottom)

divide it up into four tiny pie shells.

Top with shredded sharp and mozzarella cheese and bake for 15 minutes.

***Yields 4 individual tomato pies***

Stuffed Italian Shells

• 1 packages frozen, chopped spinach
• 1 pound browned hamburger meat
• 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
• Handful of finely chopped Videalla onions
• Grated Parmesan
• Salt and pepper
• 1 large egg
• 1 (1-pound) package jumbo pasta shells
• 1 can of your favorite spaghetti sauce
• Extra parmesan and mozzarella cheese

1. Mix everything but the shells and extra cheese and spaghetti sauce together in a bowl.
2. Boil the shells until they're almost done leaving them a bit chewy.
3. Stuff the shells and place them into a 9 x 13 pan.
4. Pour over the spaghetti sauce over the shells and top with the extra cheese.
5. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

***Yields one 9 x 13 Pan FULL of stuffed shells***