Mommiedom

I was looking around Pinterest for some new recipes to try and this idea of a chicken tortilla casserole popped up. I looked over the inspiration recipe and though I could do my take on it, so knowing I had everything in my pantry or fridge, I set to work creating this casserole.


Ingredients

1 diced tomato
1/3 jar of roasted red peppers diced up
1 can of cream of mushroom
1 can of cheese soup
1 can (8oz) of tomato sauce
1 can of drained black beans
1 packet of enchilada seasoning
1 prepackaged (12 oz) of shredded chicken
1 can of mushrooms
2 cups of shredded cheese (I used Colby jack)
1 cup of frozen corn


I took all of that (reserve cheese for top) and mixed it a big bowl, sprayed a casserole dish, spread it the dish, and topped it with the two cups of cheese. I baked it at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes and let it sit for 5 minutes.


It was a huge hit at the house. I had only about a third of the casserole left when we were done. My only compliant was from the oldest who said it was a tad spicy but she also thinks water is spicy!!

There is this commercial I see a lot for Hellman's Mayo to make Parmesan Crusted Chicken Breasts. I always want to try it but because we are a house divided between mayo and Miracle Whip so I don't use mayo a lot, I never have that much on hand. For some reason when I was at the big box store I picked up a gallon of both Miracle Whip and Hellman's. Needless to say they plowed through what my hubby likes to call the good mayo even though I remind him it is considered salad dressing. I don't like the tanginess of it and prefer mayo.

So I had the huge jar of it in the fridge and thought I really need to try it. I had three HUGE chicken breasts which I used. I used the basic recipe that you can find here. It is also on the side of the jar. I used more breadcrumbs because I didn't really measure but just shook them on.

I baked them for about thirty minutes because they were huge pieces. I have to say the turned out better than I hoped for. My hubby liked it as well as one kid (the other one stopped counting when he demands nuggets and spaghetti nightly).

I will be making it again and highly suggest others to try it if you haven't done so. I like good and simple stuff which this was both.

Pinterest is great for all sorts of things and I love finding new recipes on the site. Sometimes they work like the great idea to take one can of pumpkin and a box of spice cake mix to make amazing pumpkin muffins. I have made those a handful of times.

I saw this a pin for Cheesy Chicken tater Tot Casserole from The Country Cook. I had it booked marked because I so wanted to make that. When I did my huge grocery shopping a few weeks ago, I added all those things on my kist to make it so when I finally got around to making it, I was amazed at how quick it came together and how good it was.

I followed the recipe for the most part of course I always add my own twist. I added in one can of cheddar cheese soup along with everything else. It made it extra cheesy and my nearly seven year old is still talking about how much she loves it.

Now I know for future I could totally change it up by using cream of mushroom or cream of chicken. I have a can of cream of jalapeño which I think would be an great addition to the dish.

I took and sprayed the crock pot with cooking spray and started layering the ingredients in.

I used my smaller crock pot so I doubt I used a full bag of tater tots (I bought the huge bag for us). I just layered the bottom with about 2 cups of them. I than added some shredded cheese and than added in the diced chicken. I used three nice size chicken breast but I bet two cans of canned chicken would work as well. I than microwaved and chopped about 6 slices of bacon (It could always use more bacon) and than topped it with the soup and more cheese. I put it on low on the slow cooker and let it go for about 5 hours.

When any dish wins the family over and seconds are asked for, I know it is one I will make again. Plus it was simple and easy which is what I am all about when I am cooking for the family.

I love me some coffee creamer. When I started on my weight loss kick, I went to the fat free stuff for my coffee. It was no WW points so I figured some in my coffee wasn't going to hurt. It wasn't like I use  buckets of it. I think it takes me almost two weeks to go through a small bottle (less if my hubby has coffee more often than once a week).

So I noticed I was low and than like instantly we were out of it. I have been trying to stretch grocery shopping trips out as far as I can so I didn't really want to go in for just that. than I had a light bulb moment. I wondered if Pinterest would have a recipe for it and sure enough it did. I used the pin but of course I spun it for my needs. I also made the condensed milk as well using sugar substitute so it is just like I buy from the store minus all the add ins to make it last longer.

I also added in some vanilla extract to it for my flavoring. As you can read from the inspiration pin, there are lots of flavors you could make. Maybe I will try another one. The only down fall I see is that I don't think it is going to last as long because of the milk. I figure I have it for the week and than will need to make a new batch. That is perfectly okay because I had EVERYTHING on hand to make it including the condensed milk. Plus it took about 5 minutes to put together including pulling out the ingredients so why not make it when it is that easy!!!

The kids have been asking for me to make that spinach dish with the filo. Yeah I know it sounds weird my kids eat spinach but they grew up on it so they have learned to like it. I notice any kid who doesn't eat it usually has a parent who doesn't like it.

I had parents that liked it so we ate it quite a bit plus we ate a lot of Greek as we were growing up. I think it reminded my Mom of her Armenian roots because a lot of the foods are similar in what they use. I use to get Spanakopita when we would go the greek restaurants and for some reason in the Milwaukee there were many of them from nice sit down to fast food. Usually the sit down ones were more family restaurant with a wide variety of foods. My brother always liked to get stir fry or stuffed peppers. We were not picky kids at all.

So when they asked of course I am going to make it for them. I have used a recipe before for it but once you know it and of course I tweak it as my own.

I used 1 sleeve of Filo Dough (found in the freezer department by pie crusts usually).
2 boxes of frozen spinach defrosted
1 container of crumbled feta cheese
2 eggs beaten
1 cup of melted butter

yep that is all it is!

I drained the spinach and squeezed out the excess water. I kept doing this till it was pretty compressed.

I took the Spinach, beaten eggs, and feta and mixed them all together in a big bowl.

I sprayed a glass pyrex dish (10x15 size) with some cooking spray and than started layering the filo (2 sheets0, some melted butter to coat, and some of the mix. I did this for about three to four layers. I than topped the last two sheets and coated with melted butter.

I baked it at 350 for about 30 minutes or until the top filo starts to brown up. I sliced it up and served it with some spinach and feta flavored pita that I warmed up.

The kids loved it and we ate it all up!

I was so good at trying to clean out the freezer when I stopped doing it. I got very inventive and loved that I had everything listed out so I knew what was in there. I have been meaning to do it again and finally out of some boredom I did it. I knew I would need to get the freezer ready for my next shipment from Omaha Steaks. I got turned on by a deal from them last fall and now have ordered about four times. The meats are good quality and I calculated it out to be about 7 bucks per meal when I order because I order when they send me coupons and free shipping.

I started off just doing the inside freezer to see what I had in there, mainly vegetables and breakfast foods. I didn't throw out to much because when we redid the pantry, I had cleaned it out some. I pulled it all out, consolidated like foods and took all meats in there to the outside freezer I have (I have a an old fridge out there but would love a stand freezer one of these days).

As I was cleaning it out, I listed everything I had in there as well as the outside freezer, the outside freezer was super quick because everything was easy to read and somewhat organized. I like a total geek went and put it all in an excel file which than made me think about doing the pantry which honestly I should have done in January when we redid it. I have been putting stuff in big tubs to prevent any insects from getting in because I did have a meal moth issue before we redid it all. I have bins for baking items,  breakfast and side dishes.

I than did the next shelf and as I wrote things down, I also organized it. Just kept moving down. I than stuck that all in another sheet in the excel file. Finally I did my overage stash that is in the garage. I put jars of sauce, snacks, drinks and etc.

After everything was in excel and looks pretty, I printed it all up and started meal planning with what I had and made a grocery list of things I would need to complete the meals. I was amazed at all the things I had that I could put together with out going to buy to much. My list is likely less than 40 bucks of stuff and is mostly stuff that expires easy (milk, bread and eggs).

After I went through what I had to create complete meals, I had about 27 different meals with very little overlap. I also have some other things where I could change it up if needed to. Having a well stocked pantry really helps to make some unique things. I have stuff to make Greek, Indian, Italian,  and well so many different global foods.

I am hoping that I can limit what I buy over the next month as well as going out to eat. As I get rid of things I use, if we like it, it will go on the grocery list for the next big shopping day.  I am hoping for lots of creativity during this time plus some good foods.

I never was a fan of fish tacos and for the longest time despised them but than I got brave and tried some. I was hooked in an instant especially from a certain restaurant not very close to my house so I learned to make them.

I have done them in a variety of ways fried, baked, and breaded. I like all methods but for this I used a lightly pan fried ones.

I thawed the fish and than tossed in some taco seasoning and let it rest in the fridge.

I lightly dunked them in some milk, coated with a tad of flour and pan fried up.

I than took some already sliced up cabbage (coleslaw mix), sliced red pepper, and dressed it with some sour cream and yes my favorite "That Green Sauce" from HEB. If you don't have that use a green salsa.

I lightly fired the tortillas because I like some crunch and served it with some sliced avocado and tomato.

For the black beans, I took one large can of black beans and emptied that into the crock pot. I than diced up tomatoes and roasted red peppers from a jar. I than added in about  tablespoon of the taco seasoning and some frozen corn. I put it on high for about 4 hours. Isn't that simple!

The kids both feel so so and I wanted to make a soup for them because soup always makes you feel better. I was looking to see what sounded good and I saw Greek Lemon Soup which is basically a creamier chicken and rice soup. The rice didn't appeal really and I knew I had some orzo in the pantry.

Lately I have been homesick for foods that I just can't seem to get down here in Texas (they have their own strange version). Last week I was so craving my Dad's awesome fish fry's so I went out and got the closest fish possible and fried it up for fish baskets with everyone.

This week I was really craving Clam Chowder so when I was grocery shopping the other day, I picked up all the ingredients.  Soups are really quite easy and homemade is far better than the can though tomato is better from the can/jar (I have tried many times with no luck). The key to most soups are to let them simmer for awhile.

For the Clam Chowder I took:

- 1/2 diced red onion (it was what I had)
- 2 large russet potatoes peeled and diced small (they cook better)
- 10 diced baby carrots (I like carrots in here but they could be left out).
-2 cans of minced clams
-1 container of chicken broth or three cans
- 1 pint of heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons of butter
- 2tablespoons of flour
- 2 table spoons of corn starch (for thickening at the end).
- Some olive oil

I took my dutch oven and added in the olive oil, and than tossed in the diced onion, carrots and potatoes. I let them sauté till the onions started to caramelize. I than added in the butter and flour and coated all of the veggies and let them cook for about 5 minutes on medium.

When the flour was browned a bit, I than added in the chicken stock and the minced clams (I did not drain them and used the clam juice to give it more flavor).  I let than simmer for a good 15-20 minutes until it was slowly in a rolling boil.  The soup should be thickening up as well.

I than added in the heavy cream and brought it back to a low simmer. Now if you want the soup to be more broth like, you can just let it simmer for about 30 minutes. If you like it thicker, than take the corn starch and mix it with some water to make a slurry and than whisk it into the soup. This will thicken it up more to a creamier base. (If you like it even thicker, feel free to add more corn starch). Let it simmer for at least 30 minutes stirring on occasion.

When the soup was done, we had a pot of creamy warm goodness. My hubby had to bowls of it and told me I hadn't made enough (mind you I made a huge pot).

Last week at the grocery store they had a meal deal where if you bought the pre made ground bet, you got a bunch of free stuff. I sort of forgot about the cooked ground beef until I ventured into the fridge and found it. It wasn't expired which was good so I thought what could I make with it. I dug around the pantry (it isn't really digging hard since I redid it) and found things to make chili with so with:

- 1 package of cooked ground beef
- 2 cans of kidney beans drained
- 1 can of diced italian style diced tomatoes
- 1 can of tomato sauce (12 oz)
- 1 diced onion
-2 cups cooked elbow pasta

I took my trusty dutch oven and added some olive oil in and sautéed the onions. I than added in the ground beef and the rest of the stuff. I let it cook and boiled water for the elbow pasta. Once the elbow pasta was cooked, I added that in to the chili mix and let it simmer for another ten minutes or until the chili mac thickens up (the noodles absorb the liquid).

I topped it with some shredded cheese and well it was a hit (there was just a small bowl left over).

It was a quick stick to your ribs meal that everyone liked. I like when I have zero idea what I am going to make and than I start digging to make a hit for the family.

I made a turkey for Christmas and there was a bunch left so I decided to make turkey pot pie from it. I made two pies and froze both to be used at later time.

I took about two cups of turkey and chopped that up (Chicken can also be used).

I heated up my dutch oven with some olive oil and added in both the turkey and about a cup and half of frozen mixed vegetables. I heated them up and than added two cans of chicken broth and one can of cream of chicken. I let that come to  boil and than took about two table spoons of corn starch and mixed with some water to make a slurry. I whisked that into the boiling pot and heated through until it thicken up.

I than took tow pre made pie shells (deep dish) and ladled the mixture in. I let cool for a few minutes and than took frozen pie dough that was thawed and laid it on top and cinched it around the edges.  I let the pies completely cool before I wrapped them up and froze them.

You can than thaw them overnight and than bake for 45-50 minutes (or until they look done) at 350.

Ingredients

2 cups chopped turkey or chicken
2 cans of chicken broth
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 and 1/2 cup of frozen veggies
2 tablespoons of corn starch mixed in water
2 deep dish frozen pie shells
2 frozen pis shells (not in tins)


Yummy and good use of left overs. I love to use leftovers for new things!

Enjoy

Becky

Now that the weather here in Texas is cooler and for us winter is about the mid 50s. Yes our heat does go on and we have to bundle up. Actually I just enjoy sweater weather which it is.

I decided that a good old beef stroganoff would be in order. I usually throw it all in the crock pot and let it go all day but I got a new cast iron dutch oven which I have fallen in love with and use it for everything now. I have been wanting one for awhile but refuse to pay those outrageous prices but I found a nice one for 30 bucks and it is in my favorite teally blue.

I took some cheap steaks and diced them up. Using some olive oil, I browned that and one diced onion in the dutch oven and than added in the mushrooms to cook everything. I than added in one can of beef broth, one large (family size) can of cream of mushroom, 2 table spoons of steak sauce and 2 table spoons of worstashire  sauce (sorry for the horrible spelling but auto correct isn't fixing).  I brought that to a boil and than I stuck it in the oven at 350 for about two hours. At the 90 minute mark, I added in about a half a cup of sour cream. I served it over some egg noodles and I roasted some Brussels sprouts as well. I know they get a bad rap but they are so good roasted with some olive oil and basic seasoning salt.

It was a Sunday dinner on the weekday but everyone in awhile it is nice to have those. I love that I can use the oven and it doesn't make me sweat. Thanksgiving, I was glad we only had the turkey on for about three hours (I had a 11 lb one).

I was totally craving cheesecake the other day and with the holidays, cream cheese always seems to be on sale so I had a ton of it in the fridge but I wanted to make more than a plain one. So I started seeing what I had in the pantry and came upon the idea of making a caramel apple one.

I took a basic cheese cake recipe I found online, and than diced three apples and tossed them in some sugar and cinnamon before arranging them around the top of the cheesecake. I baked it for about an hour and after it cooled, I heated up some caramel sauce and drizzled it on the top. For someone like me who does not bake or even like to, it turned out fantastic. Even my hubby asked numerous times if I really made it because days before I had attempted chocolate chip cookies that didn't really turn out.

I made my crock pot meatloaf the other night and it was like perfect.  I used one more pound of ground beef to make it bigger because there were five of us eating that night so this size would work well for about 6 people because we had left overs. Of course I added some green bean casserole and homemade mashed potatoes which made the meal perfect. Sometimes traditional meals can be the best. I couldn't resist taking a picture of it after I sliced because it sliced so nice.


PS you will also notice I am posting food related things on Fridays now. I am going to posting three times a week now instead of almost every day because it is getting busy with the upcoming holidays.

While we were in Wisconsin, we attended a Packer Party for the first game of the season. I was tasked to get some taco dip from the grocery store for it because I had zero time to make it. So when I ran into the grocery store and well there was no taco dip- yeah like for some reason I thought there would be on game day. It was frantic in there with all the green and gold shirts running around getting last minute stuff for the game.

I went into my problem solving mode and grabbed a can of refried beans, taco seasoning, 1 can of diced mexican style tomatoes, chopped black olives, cream cheese, sour cream (small container), and some shredded Mexican cheese. So I hurried through the checkout because I knew everyone was already wondering where I was.

When I got to my brother's house, I rummaged through cabinets to find a dish to make it while everyone told me I should of just passed on it all together but I told them no football game is complete with out taco dip.

I took the refried beans and spread that around the dish. I than soften the cream cheese in the microwave, added about 1/2 the taco seasoning packet, and1/2 the sour cream and mixed it all up. I spread that on top of the beans. I than added the diced tomatoes, cheese, black olives, and the rest of the sour cream. I let it sit in the fridge for about 15 minutes though you don't have to.

My husband that proceeded to ask me through out the first quarter when the dip would be ready so he finally just got up and put it out. I think it all went though one member of peanut gallery who shall remain nameless told me that he didn't like the beans in it but still ate a ton of it!


So let me know your thoughts on beans or no beans with the taco dip!

My hubby has been raving for years about the Apple Pie moonshine and I know most of heard about it. He finally was given some bottles of it by a family member who made it using ever clear. She told me it was easy to make and after some research, I saw that it was.

I took some Apple Juice, Apple Cider, 2 cups of sugar, and cinnamon sticks and boiled it. I let it cool for a few hours and added in some light rum. I than stuck it in some mason jars which my hubby thinks is so cute.

This is a great drink as a shot or over some ice. I think it would be good warmed for winter. I will be making this more often because it was so good but be warned the liquor in it is strong but it should mellow some as it ages.

Taco Bell and I have become friends the last few weeks with their new Cantina Bowls. I have had my fair share of them more due to the fact Taco Bell is like two minutes of the road but I know they can't be good for you. So I got a recipe off Relish Relish for Shredded Beef Tacos. I started out with that intent to make that but well one thing after another and well I didn't even come close to that but instead took a pork roast and made some of the best shredded pork. The key here is slow cooking (got to love the crock pot).

I took one 3lb pork roast and threw that along with 2 cups of water and a quarter cup of taco seasoning (one packet would work to) into the crock pot with it set to low for 8 hours.

At about 5 hours of cooking I did cut it up and start shredding but that could wait till the end as well.

So that is all you need to do with the meat- isn't that easy. You could use the same idea and make shredded BBQ Pork (take out the taco seasoning and add BBQ sauce the last three hours). I made that as well and just as good.

So the meat is so simple and well most of everything else is as well.

I took some brown rice (boil in the bag kind) and made per the directions. I did add about two teaspoons of dry chicken stock into the water. I than chopped up cilantro and one the rice was done added that in as well as some garlic salt and lime juice (about a teaspoon of each).

Homemade Guacamole- two medium avocados that are very ripe peeled, cored and diced up. One small Roma tomato diced up, cilantro, garlic salt, and some regular salt. I mashed that all together and let it macerate for a few minutes.

I than moved on some Homemade Pico De Gall which was two diced tomatoes, one quarter diced onion, one half of jalapeño (deseeded and diced), garlic salt and regular salt. I let that macerate as well.

Finally I took one can of black beans and added 1/4 cup of chunky salsa. I microwaved for three minutes or until it is hot.

Now I know that sounds like a lot of work but it was all really quick. You just need to chop and divide the items as you go.

I than took the rice layered with the beans, carnitas, cheese, guacamole, pico, and sour cream. Oh my was it good. I wish I would have taken a picture but honestly it would have looked like a clump of stuff on a plate. I guess if I ever write a cook book that I can have my food "designed".

Well home you enjoy and by the way it wasn't spicy at all (when I seeded the peppers, that took a bunch of the heat away from it).

So I had a recipe off of Relish Relish for a homemade Caesar Salad which sounded so good.  I put the dressing together and was worried that when I added the anchovies that Miss O would be grossed out but oh no, she asked to stick it in herself and than proceeded to eat all of the left over salad that we didn't eat. She has been asking for more of it and I had to tell her to wait for dinner again.

It was so cute to see her help make it and than devour it like it was candy. I find it important to teach kids good eating habits and have them see where and how their food comes from.

Basic Dressing recipe (my own)

1 cup of oil (olive, canola- whatever you have on hand)
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese (shredded)
1 dash of Worstashire (horrible spelling) sauce
1teaspoon of minced garlic
1 Sardine fillet

Blend it all together and pour over Romaine lettuce, tomatoes,  Parmesan Cheese, and croutons.

I saw a really great Pin the other day making Peanut Butter cookies with no flour. It was 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of Peanut butter, 1 egg and 1 teaspoon of baking powder. They were fantastic and so easy to make.

I made them again and decreased the sugar to 2/3 and upped the baking powder to 1 tablespoon. They came out a bit better. So I was thinking of taking the basic idea of that recipe and creating my own granola cookies or I guess they could be bars as well.

I took 2 and half cups of granola, a 1/2 cup of dried cranberries, 2 eggs,  1tablespoon of baking powder and 1/2 cup of peanut butter. I mixed it all together and baked for about ten to twelve minutes at 350 degrees.

The Peanut butter cookies were baked at the same temp as well for the same amount of time. At the ten minute mark, make sure to check them to see if they are done. All ovens work differently.

These were great to make and being without flour, lower carbs and calories which we like around here. Nice to have a sweet treat that is not full of junk!