Pizza Rolls

These are so easy, freeze well and are a great lunchbox option!  Enjoy!

Pizza Rolls - click to link to recipe
You can even use the Pillsbury roll out pizza dough for a quick fix.  

Chili Con Queso

Football season is here!  I am not a huge football fan but I do enjoy a good football party.  Here is a great recipe to take to your next party or pot luck!  It is a crowd pleaser!  My husband recently took it to a work lunch!  We got it all ready, put it in the slow-cooker and he plugged it in at work.  So, I didn't get a good picture of it when the cheese had melted.  This picture is from my husband's cell phone so it is not the best quality.

I just noticed I had posted this recipe before with less meat and spice.  I think this version could easliy be used as a main course with chips.  The other one can be found here as a side dish Chili Con Queso (EF, GF).  Also, the version used as a side is gluten-free.  It just uses a gluten-free taco seasoning packet and not the chili packet.  It is very hard to find a chili seasoning packet without gluten.

Chili Con Queso

2 lb ground beef

1 taco seasoning packet

1 chili seasoning packet

2 lb Velveeta cheese, cubed

2 cans tomatoes with green chilies

Brown ground beef in a skillet until no longer pink and crumbly.  Drain.  Place cooked beef in the bottom of a slow-cooker.  Top with taco and chili seasoning, Velveeta and tomatoes.  Cook on high for about 4 hours, stirring every hour, or until cheese is all melted.  For best results, turn your slow-cooker to warm while serving.  Serve warm with tortilla chips.

Pork Cubanos

I am obsessed with food trucks.  I find it fascinating that great food, and lots of it, can come out of such a small, mobile space.  Although, I would not want to work in one.  How could it not be steamy hot in there?!  Because of my obsession, I recently watched the movie Chef.  Have you seen it?  The movie is pretty good but I was most excited about the drool worthy Cubanos they show in the movie.  Los Angeles chef, Roy Choi, published the recipe used in the movie on people.com.  You can click to link to the recipe below.  I was determined to make these myself.  I made the pork roast with some black beans and rice the first night.  Then we made the sandwiches the second night with the leftover roast.  Best. Sandwich. Ever.  Delicious!  I will post the recipes and pictures for the pork roast and rice soon!

Mojo Pork Cubanos - Click to link to the recipe.

Chicken Fiesta Salad

In our continual attempts to try to eat healthier, my husband and I are trying to eat more salads.  But for him to really be on board with that, I need to keep them somewhat interesting and tasty!  He loved this Fiesta Salad.  I know you all probably don't really need a recipe for salad, but I always find it helpful to see salad recipes to inspire me!  So, I thought I would share.

Chicken Fiesta Salad

Mixed greens

Chicken, shredded (I used rotisserie chicken.)

Easy Corn Black Bean Salsa

Carrot, shredded

Cheese, shredded 

Black olives, sliced

Ranch (We like Wishbone Ranch and Chipotle Ranch.  They are egg-free and gluten-free.)

In a large bowl, combined desired amount of each ingredient, omit some, add others, depending on your tastes.  I find that if you add a little dressing and mix it into the salad, then you can get away with using a lot less dressing.

Fettuccine Alfredo

This is a recipe my Mom's friend gave her years ago.  It is a great basic Alfredo sauce.  Because it uses milk rather than cream, I like to think I can feel a little less guilty eating it.

My friend loves Fettuccine Alfredo.  Recently, we had them over for dinner and I made this for her.  We served it with Easy Grilled Chicken (EF, DF, GF) and a tossed salad.  It was a big hit with the adults and kids.

Fettuccine Alfredo

1 stick butter

3 T flour

2 c whole milk

½ c Parmesan cheese

In a saucepan, melt butter.  Stir in flour with wire whisk, until fully incorporated and starting to bubble.  Gradually, add milk, stirring constantly.  Simmer until sauce starts to thicken.  Add cheese and stir until fully incorporated and thickened.

Cook 1 package of fettuccine, as directed.  Place pasta on a plate top with chicken and sauce.  Sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese. 

In the picture, I mixed the pasta into the sauce for easier serving, especially for the kids.

Cheeseburger Soup

Tomorrow is the first day of Spring and I am so ready!  I really am just fine with Winter, but this year seems to have been pretty rough for most of us and I am ready for some warmer days.  But I am sure there will still be some cool damp days this Spring and this delicious soup will warm you right up.  I made this for a crowd recently and everyone seemed to like it, even the kids.  Enjoy!

Cheeseburger Soup - Click to link to the recipe.  The recipe in the link is very much like the one originally posted by Taste of Home.  The Recipe Critic doubled the beef and cheese.  I also did this.

Gluten-free notes:  If making gluten-free, make sure your chicken broth is gluten-free.  Some websites suggest that Velveeta is gluten-free but if doubt, try using the cheddar.  

Smothered Burritos and/or Enchiladas

Who doesn't like their Mexican food smothered in a delicious sauce.  I make various kinds of smothered Mexican goodness!  These meals are some of my favorites to make for a friend in need of a dinner, especially if I know they are a fan of Mexican food.  I give them the following choices:

• Corn or Flour Tortilla
• Shredded Chicken, Shredded Beef, or Ground Beef
• Red Sauce, Green Sauce or Queso (aka Cheese Sauce)

My favorite combinations are as follows:

•  Flour Tortilla, Shredded Beef with Red Sauce, as published in Smothered Shredded Beef Burittos.
• Flour Tortilla, Ground Beef with Queso using my recipe for Taco Meat, as pictured below.
• Corn Tortilla, Shredded Chicken with Green Sauce, as published in Easy Chicken Enchiladas. I recommend only using the green sauce on the corn tortillas.  I think most green sauces make the flour tortillas kind of squishy, probably due to the lower fat content in the sauce. 

Queso Smothered Burritos are ready to deliver to a friend.

In case you are wondering about my calling them burritos or enchiladas...  Burritos use a flour tortilla and enchiladas use a corn tortilla. 

 

Shrimp & Grits

I found this recipe on Pinterest and was so excited to try it.  My kids actually really love shrimp but they had not tried grits.  They liked the grits okay but gobbled up the shrimp.  My husband also really enjoyed this.

Shrimp and Grits - click to link to the recipe.

Recipe notes:  I pretty much made this recipe as described.  But I used 2 cups of broth in place of the water and bouillon cube, because that is what I had.  I also used my own Cajun Spices, adjusted for this recipe and to reduce the heat for my kiddos.  See spice adjustment below:

1/2 t seasoned salt
3/4 t garlic powder
3/4 t onion powder
Pinch white pepper
1/2 t black pepper
Pinch cayenne pepper
1/2 t thyme
1/8 t oregano

Gluten-free notes:  Grits should be gluten-free but check the label for those and the broth.

Ham and Cheese Crescents

Techincally, summer hasn't even started yet and my schedule is already crazy busy.  So, I am way behind on posting ideas for June.  I am going to post something quick I made a while ago but never posted.  If you need a quick easy summer meal, try these ham and cheese crescents.

If you like this recipe,  you may also like Pizza Roll Ups (EF).

 
Ham and Cheese Crescents

2 tubes of refrigerated crescent rolls
16 think slices of ham
8 slices of cheese, halved

Fold up ham and place with half a slice of cheese on unrolled crescent.  Rull up and put seam side down on baking sheet.  Bake according to the directions on the crescent roll tube.

Makes 16

Empanada

Our family, especially my husband, loves anything in a pie crust!  If we have some kind of pie for dinner, even better!  Empanadas are savory or sweet filled Spanish hand pies popular throughout South America.  I was surprised by how much my kids enjoyed these!  They gobbled the right up!!

If you need an easy slow-cooker shredded beef, try the recipe I use in my Shredded Beef Tacos (EF).  If you would rather try shredded chicken in this recipe, try my recipe for Shredded Chicken (EF, DF, GF) also cooked in the slow-cooker.

It just occurred to me, that I posted this in time for Cinco de Mayo!  I didn't even plan that.  This recipe was just next on my list to post.  Great timing!  Happy Cinco de Mayo, everyone!

Mini Empanadas

1 lb cooked shredded beef

½ t onion powder

½ t garlic powder

1 T cumin

½ t freshly ground pepper

Salt to taste

Pie crust dough (enough for two 9” pie crusts)

Shredded cheese

Preheat oven to temperature recommended for pie crust.  Mix meat with spices and set aside.  Roll out pie crust and cut into circles, about 3-4 inches in diameter.  I used a large plastic cup to cut mine.  Fill each with shredded beef mixture and shredded cheese.  Fold dough in half over meat mixture and cheese and seal seam with a fork.  Bake according to pie crust instructions, about 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Chicken Tetrazzini

I tried another recipe from Cooking Light magazine.  This time I made one of their recipe makeovers for Chicken Tetrazzini.  It was featured in their January issue.  It is so good and creamy! 
 

Chicken Tetrazzini - Click here to link to the recipe. 

Chicken Sausage Pasta

We tried this recipe for lunch today.  It is pretty quick to make and it was really good.  The kids even enjoyed it!  I tossed my veggies in with the cooking pasta a little sooner than the recipe recommended.  This was also our first experience cooking with orecchiette pasta.  It is a little denser than some of the smaller pastas and the bowl shape does a good job of holding in some of the flavors you mix in! 

This recipe could easily be made gluten-free by substituting your favorite gluten-free pasta.  If you like this recipe, try Chicken Pesto Pasta (EF, GF) or Turkey Sausage and Spinach Pasta (EF, GF).

Chicken Sausage Pasta - Click to link to recipe.

Pizza Roll Ups

Are you already feeling the crazy hustle and bustle of the Christmas season?  With Thanksgiving being later this year, I feel like I am starting the season already behind!  Our calendar is also filling up with fun holiday parties and events.

Do you need a quick meal on your busy days or something fun to take to one of your parties?  Try these quick Pizza Roll Ups, served with pizza sauce for dipping.  Easy and a crowd pleasing!

I have also made ham and cheese roll ups.  For each roll, I just used one slice of cheddar cheese and one thin slice of ham.  I didn't even brush with the butter mixture and they were still good.  I think this is also a great way to use leftover meat, like maybe holiday ham!

Pizza Roll Ups - click to link to recipe.

Chicken Tamale Pie {Egg-free}

Today is the first day of Fall, my favorite season!  I really love it!!  I love the crispness in the air, the fun fall activities, getting to wear some cooler weather clothes and especially all of the delicious fall treats. . . apples, pumpkins, etc.

Today I am sharing a recipe that isn't necessarily related to fall, but does have some fall colors and has a nice warm cozy comfort food taste to it!  Here is my recipe for Chicken Tamale Pie.  It turned out pretty much how I envisioned it.  This recipe is a little spicy.  If your family doesn't like spicy foods, you can omit the cayenne pepper and use regular canned diced tomatoes in place of the diced tomatoes and green chilies.

If you like this recipe, you may also like Shredded Chicken Tacos (EF, DF, GF).
 

 Cut and topped with olives and green onion.

Fresh out of the oven.

Chicken Tamale Pie

2 split chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies, drained

1 8 oz can tomato sauce

½ t onion powder

½ t garlic powder

½ t freshly ground pepper

½ t salt

3 T chili powder

¼ t cayenne pepper

1 t ground cumin

1 c shredded cheddar cheese or cheddar cheese blend

Cornbread topping:

1 ½ c all-purpose flour

1 ½ c cornmeal

2 T sugar
1 T baking powder

½ t salt

1 ½ c milk

½ c vegetable oil 

Preheat oven to 425°.  In a large bowl, add chicken, beans, tomatoes, tomato sauce and spices stirring until well combined.  Spray the bottom of a 9x10 baking dish with cooking spray.  Add chicken mixture spreading evenly.  Sprinkle with shredded cheese and set aside.

To make the cornbread topping, stir together all ingredients, except for baking powder, until mixed through.  Add baking powder last, mixing until incorporated.  Immediately, pour over chicken and cheese.  Bake for 30-35 minutes or until edges brown and top is golden.  Serve warm.  Topping ideas include: sour cream, green onion, olives, fresh diced tomatoes, etc. 

Serves 8

Dairy-free notes:  I think a non-dairy milk could be substituted in the cornbread.  The cheese in between the chicken mixture and cornbread could also be omitted to make this dish dairy-free.  If anyone tries it, let me know how it turns out.

Chicago-Style Deep-Dish Pizza

I have only been to Chicago a couple of times.  But I will say, their deep dish pizza makes an impression on you!  I hope to make more trips to the windy city to enjoy some.  I found this recipe on Pinterest.  It looked like the real deal so I just had to try it.  Plus, the original creator of the recipe was Cooks Illustrated and they are known for doing the research to make a recipe as authentic as possible.  This is seriously was one of the best recipes I have ever tried!  So delicious!!  I made it as described in the recipe below and my family inhaled it!  I will be making a double recipe next time!

The length of the recipe can be a little intimidating but the steps are very easy to follow.  Give it a try.  You won't regret it!

Chicago-Style Deep-Dish Pizza - The genius behind this recipe is really Cooks Illustrated, but you can't link to any recipe on their website, if you do not have a subscription.  This recipe was featured in their January/February 2010 issue.  I found the recipe on Annie Eats.

Stovetop Cheddar Mac

I was having one of those moments when I didn't know what to cook and I needed to go to the store.  I looked in my kitchen trying to come up with something that wouldn't require going out.  I decided to try some quick macaroni and cheese.  We usually eat the box variety, as my husband prefers it, but my youngest doesn't really like it.  I thought trying homemade macaroni and cheese might be more appealing and we should give it a try.

I know most macaroni and cheese recipes are baked but I was looking for something a little quicker.  I found this Rachel Ray recipe for a quick stove top version.  I had the ingredients on hand.  We don't usually have half and half but I had it left over from when we made our Baggie Ice Cream.  I imagine you could also use milk but would just need to slightly adjust the milk.  I will try that the next time I make it.  I want to find a good recipe for baked macaroni and cheese but this one is a really good quick fix for your cheesy macaroni craving!
 

Stovetop Cheddar Mac - I made as described in this recipe.  Please click to link.   

Chicken and Cheese Stuffed Shells

Split chicken breasts were on special at my grocery store this past week.  So, I bought two large packages.  I cooked them according to my recipe for {Slow-cooker}Shredded Chicken (EF, DF, GF).  Then I had enough chicken in my freezer for four meals!  The next question . . . What do cook with all of this chicken?  The solution for one of the packages became this recipe.  It was inspired by my own recipe for Easy Cheesy Manicotti (EF).  I was excited when my family gobbled it up!  We will be having this recipe again!! 

Chicken and Cheese Stuffed Shells

12 oz package of jumbo shells

1 lb cooked shredded chicken

16 oz part-skim ricotta

½ c grated parmesan cheese

2 c part-skim Italian blend cheese, finely shredded

½ t freshly ground pepper

1 T dried parsley

1 24 oz jar pasta sauce

Preheat oven to 350^o.  Cook pasta according to package directions.  Once the pasta is cooked, rinse in cool water to stop the pasta from cooking further.  While pasta is boiling, mix chicken, pepper, parsley and all three cheeses.  Put one cup of the pasta sauce in the bottom of a large glass baking dish.  Fill cooked pasta shells with about two tablespoons of the chicken and cheese mixture and place in a glass baking dish.  Once all of the shells are filled, spoon remaining sauce over the top, cover with foil and bake for about 30 minutes. 

Serves 6-8