Chicken Broccoli Casserole

I like Chicken Broccoli Casserole, but I don't like using canned "cream of" soups. Today I found a couple of recipes online, and tweaked them a little for our dinner. Most of the kids liked this. Bentley said it was "better than he thought it would be." Milo ate 2 helpings.

Ingredients:

2 cooked and shredded boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 16 oz package frozen broccoli

3 TBSP butter

3 TBSP flour

3/4 tsp salt

2 1/2 cups milk

1/4 - 1/2 tsp lemon pepper seasoning

1/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup mayo

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

1/4 cup butter

1 cup crushed Townhouse Crackers

Method:

Melt the 3 TBSP butter in a medium saucepan. Add the flour, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine and cook for another minute or two. Wisc in the milk and continue to stir until mixture thickens and boils. Add sour cream and mayo. Stir in the shredded cheese until melted. Add broccoli and shredded chicken. Pour into greased casserole dish (I used a 9 or 10 inch round glass dish). Melt 1/4 cup butter and stir in crackers. Sprinkle over casserole. Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Serve over cooked rice or egg noodles.

I think I'm going to try this one . . .

Chicken Piccata

Sweet Pork Burritos

Reposted from Snakes Snails and Puppydog Tails.

This burrito recipe is one of my favorite recipes. I told Ginger I'd email it to her, and almost forgot, then decided just to post it here. It's a good summer recipe because you don't have to finish the burritos in the oven. I usually cook the meat and the rice, heat up the beans and tortillas, and let everyone assemble their own burrito. The salad dressing is good on almost anything. I keep it in a quart jar in the fridge.

Café Rio Style Pork Burritos

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 lbs. boneless pork loin salt, pepper, garlic salt, to season
• 1 package flour tortillas (burrito size)
• 2 15 oz. cans mild green chili enchilada sauce
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1 15 oz. can black beans, drained
• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 lb. Monterey Jack cheese, grated (more if desired)
• chicken broth or bouillon cubes
• around 2 c. prepared rice
• green enchilada sauce (1 large can or 2 regular)

Directions: Cut pork into large cubes and place in slow cooker with 1/3 c. water. Season with salt, pepper and garlic salt. Cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 8 hours. Remove from cooker and drain. Shred meat and place in a bowl. In another bowl, mix together 1/2 to 3/4 cup green chili sauce and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Pour over pork and mix well.

--Rice: Prepare white rice per directions. Add chicken bouillon cubes to water, or use chicken broth instead of water for extra flavor.

--Beans: Drain black beans and warm up over the stove or in the microwave. Add salt and pepper to taste.

--Tortillas: Brown tortillas on a skillet with a little bit of cooking spray. (I like to use uncooked tortillas - you can get them at Costco)

--Assembly: Heat oven to 350. Spray 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Pour 1/2 cup green chili sauce into pan. Sprinkle each tortilla with cheese, then some rice, 1-2 T. chopped cilantro, black beans, and 1/3 c. pork mixture. Roll up each tortilla burrito style and place into dish seam side down. Pour remaining green sauce over burritos and sprinkle with cheese. Put into the oven until burritos are heated through and cheese is melted (around 20 minutes). Garnish with desired toppings (e.g. tomatoes, sour cream, salsa, guacamole, lettuce).

Slow Cooker Black Beans

I tried this recipe today, with a few changes. I think I will make a few more changes next time, but the beans were good and making dinner this evening was pretty simple.

Here's what I did:

Sorted the beans and soaked over night in water.

Put them in the crock pot this morning, along with a can of diced tomatoes and water to cover everything. I put about half of an onion (diced) in the pot and a couple cloves of sliced garlic. Then I added some ground cumin, ground coriander, and chili powder. I simmered the beans on high for about 8 hours. At the last minute I added some salt and pepper. I also added a little water as needed throughout the day.

We had these with corn tortillas, queso fresco, lettuce, corn on the cob, and green grapes.

Next time, I think I will add a can of diced tomatoes with green chilies instead of the plain tomatoes. I'll also add the salt and pepper at the beginning instead of the end.

Fish Tacos

The kids and I like fish tacos - the kind you get at Rubio's, although we like El Azteca's fish tacos and Cocolito's are probably our favorite. Anyway, I attempted to make some for dinner on Sunday. I used a bunch of different recipes to get started, and put some of the ideas together for our tacos.

This recipe was probably the first one that I looked at. I ended up not using very many of her ideas, but it was a good foundation recipe.

For the fish, I bought a 1 pound bag of Archer Farms Alaskan cod fillets at Target. I let them thaw a little, sliced them, and used the fish and chips recipe from Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book.

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup milk

Dipped the fish and then fried them. It was messy and I think our house still smells like fish. Blah. But the tacos tasted pretty good.

For the sauce, I ended up using a variation of this recipe.

Unfortunately, I didn't buy yogurt and was out of mayo, so I improvised. I think the original recipe would have been better, but my last minute version was okay. I will make it correctly if there is a next time.

1/2 cup mayo (we borrowed miracle whip from a neighbor)

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp dried dill weed

To put the tacos together, we had warmed corn tortillas, queso fresco. the sauce, the fish, and shredded lettuce (I didn't want to buy an entire head of cabbage for the tacos so we used lettuce).

Fresh Tomato Sauce

I wanted to make Ginger's Pasta for dinner tonight because our neighbor brought us a bunch of fresh tomatoes. But, I didn't have the right kind of artichokes. I googled "fresh tomatoes" and ravioli and came up with this recipe. I used frozen ravioli, and 6 tomatoes, but otherwise followed the recipe for the tomato sauce. The kids made a huge mess, but they liked the sauce. I really liked it, too, although it wasn't what I was expecting.

Ingredients

3 garlic cloves, crushed

1/2 cup olive oil

12 ripe Roma tomatoes, chopped

Salt and black pepper to taste

1/2 cup chopped basil

Preparation

Sauté the garlic in the olive oil until soft. Add the tomatoes, salt, and pepper and cook until the tomatoes begin to soften. Add all but a couple of tablespoons of the basil. Put the mixture in a blender and blend until smooth.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Fresh-Tomato-Sauce-239030#ixzz0xmEGzerF

Week One

Monday - with friends
Tuesday - pizza
Wednesday - black bean chilliquiles
Thursday - breakfast casserole
Friday - grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup
Saturday - pinto bean burritos
Sunday - meat loaf (from this cookbook), baked potatoes

New Plan

One thing I try to do, but that can be pretty difficult, is planning one week of meals at a time. John keep suggesting that I just make the same 7 things each week, so I don't have to think about it. Maybe the kids would eventually eat those 7 meals without complaint??? I'm not going to try it, though. I like to eat different things, and to try new recipes. So instead, I'm doing something similar to what I was taught in Marie Ricks' House of Order class about 7 years ago. I have assigned each night of the week a different "theme." This is how we are organized right now, along with some ideas for each "theme."

Monday - Pasta
Tuesday - Pizza
Wednesday - Mexican
Thursday - Casserole
Friday - Soup and/or Sandwiches
Saturday - Burritos
Sunday - Meat

The kids are pretty excited about it, and although I still have to plan, this helps to narrow things down for me.

Pocket Burritoes

Ingredients:
5 flour tortillas
1 can black beans
1/2 - 1 cup shredded cooked chicken
1/2 - 1 cup frozen sweet corn
1/2 cup sliced olives
2 1/2 cups shredded cheese
onion powder
salt
garlic powder
dried cilantro
cumin
1 TBSP canola oil

Method:
Heat the oil in a frying pan. Add black beans, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, and cilantro. (I didn't measure, just sprinkled them in.) Cook beans over medium high heat about 5 minutes, then add chicken, corn, and olives and warm through.

Sprinkle about 1/3 cup cheese over one half of one tortilla. Spoon bean mixture over cheese, and cover with another layer of cheese. Fold empty side of tortilla over filling. Repeat with remaining tortillas, cheese, and filling. Brown both sides of tortilla on a griddle or in a frying pan over medium high heat. Press down on tortilla. When cheese is melted and tortilla is golden brown, remove from heat.

Serve warm as is, or with desired toppings (sour cream, tomatoes, salsa, etc.)

(This was a last minute dinner tonight because I ran out of time. It's really just a dressed up quesadilla, but I asked John to come up with a good name. I'd been thinking about trying this recipe, and used similar ingredients. You could leave out the chicken for a vegetarian meal.)

Sloppy Lasagna

1 1/4 lb uncooked Italian sausage
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz dried lasagne noodles
2 c chicken broth
2 c water
1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 c (4 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Cut sausage from casings, brown slowly with onion and garlic. Stir often. (use large kettle pan)
2. Break noodles into 2"-3" pieces.
3. To pan, add broth, 2 cups water, tomatoes and juice, tomato sauce, herbs, and noodles. Boil, stirring often until pasta is tender (about 15 minutes).
4. Serve in bowls, sprinkle with mozzarella cheese, and serve.

Goes well with sourdough bread and salad.
from Carla

Chicken Pot Pie

Crust:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
cold water

Put butter, flour, and salt in a medium size bowl. Cut flour into the butter with a pastry blender or two forks. Add cold water, a little at a time until you are able to make the dough into a ball. Handle the dough as little as possible and don't get it too wet. Wrap in plastic wrap and put in the fridge until you're ready to assemble the pie. I like to make the crust a few hours ahead of time to cut down on prep right at dinner. (This is for a single crust pie. Double it if you want a bottom crust.)

Sauce:
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried sage, marjoram, or thyme, crushed
1/8 tsp pepper
2 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup milk

In a saucepan cook onion in butter till tender. Stir in flour, salt, sage, marjoram, or thyme; and pepper. Add chicken broth and milk all at once. Cook and stir till thick and bubbly. (Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book.)

Filling:
1 cup cooked chicken, shredded or cubed
1 potato, parboiled and cubed
1 carrot, diced
1/3 cup corn
1/2 cup green beans or 1/3 cup peas (or both)
(or 1 cup of frozen mixed vegetables)

Method:
Add filling to sauce and spoon into pie plate.
Roll out crust on floured surface. Place on top of pie filling and seal edges. Using a fork, make several holes in the crust for steam to vent. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until crust is golden brown.