Apricot Chicken

As a parent I am always trying to get my kids to try new things, but sometimes they have it stuck in their head that they aren't going to like something just because of what's in it.  

So, sometimes I have to just let my kids eat dinner without telling them what's in it.  You know, it could be the most amazing thing in the world and taste so delicious, but if it has one single ingredient that they don't like, or they think sounds gross they won't eat it.  This was one of those meals.  I knew they would love it if they tasted it so when they asked what it was I just said chicken.

They ate every bite and went back for seconds.  I never did tell them what was in it.

Apricot Chicken
4-6 chicken breasts, cut into strips
1 pkg Lipton onion soup mix
1 small bottle apricot preserves
1 small bottle (8 oz) Russian dressing

Mix soup, apricot and dressing, pour over chicken pieces.  Bake in a dish at 350 for 1 hour.  Serve over rice.

I got this recipe from my neighbor a while ago and finally gave it a try.  We loved it.  I will definitely make it again.

Chicken Stir Fry

I love me a good stir fry! And the best thing about them is that you can throw in whatever you want!  Most of the time I just put in whatever veggies I have on hand and it always comes out delicious!

Chicken Stir Fry

3-4 T. coconut oil (or canola)
1/3 c. cornstarch
2 chicken breasts, trim fat and cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 onion chopped
2 carrots, sliced thinly
1 zucchini cut up into 1 inch pieces
1 red and green bell pepper cut into thin slices
8oz lo mein noodles, or stir fry noodles
1 tsp. sesame seed oil

Sauce
1/2 tsp. fresh grated ginger
2 garlic cloves minced
4 T. soy sauce
1 T. sriracha
2 T. brown sugar

Cook noodles according to package.
Dredge chicken in corn starch.  Heat oil in a sauce pan and add chicken until brown.  then set aside.  
Mix ingredients for sauce and set aside.
Cook the veggies on high heat, add oil as needed,  until the veggies are softened. 
Add the chicken and noodles to the veggies mix.
Add sauce and stir, cook until warmed through and sauce thickens .
Take off heat and add 1 tsp. sesame seed oil, stir through and enjoy!!

Broccoli Sausage Penne

Sometimes when it's hot outside it's hard to think about cooking dinner.  I just want to grab a salad or Popsicle or just something light.  Which means sometimes we don't eat very healthily in the summer.  I've been searching for light meals to cook for when we feel like this at my house and I came across some pasta recipes but nothing that my kids would eat. We decided to create our own using ingredients we love. 

Broccoli Sausage Penne

1 small package frozen broccoli florets
1 package  (1 lb) regular pork sausage (I used Jimmy Deans)
2 cups cooked penne noodles
2 TBSP butter
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Crushed red pepper
Salt & Pepper to taste

Brown sausage in a pan, drain and set aside.  Cook noodles according to directions on package, rinse in cold water, drain and set aside.  Cook broccoli in microwave following directions on the package. 

Mix broccoli, sausage, penne and butter in a pan on the stove.  Stirring occasionally, just long enough to melt butter over noodles and make everything nice and warm.  Serve with Parmesan cheese, crushed red pepper, and salt and pepper to taste.

We seriously have this meal about once a week.  It's becoming one of our favorites since it has a ton of flavor, is filling, and it's super fast and easy to make.

Crockpot Chicken Gravy

two nights a week we have either dance or tumbling and dont get home until dinner time.  I struggle to cook on these nights and usually end up grabbing a pizza one night.  So on the other night I really try and have something that wont take to much work when we get home.  This recipe is perfect!  the gravy is already made and all you need to do is figure out if you want mashed potatoes with it or rice(I usually go with rice and put it in my rice cooker before we leave),  and a veggie.

Crockpot Chicken Gravy

3-4 chicken breasts
1 package chicken gravy powder
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 can of water
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
s&p to taste

put everything in your crockpot, cook on low 6-8 hours, or high for 3-4.  shred the chicken and put back in the gravy mix.  serve over rice or mashed potatoes.

Chicken Taco Soup

Every two weeks I get out all of my cookbooks and make a menu for my family.  Then I make a list of the groceries I need in order to complete each meal, then I shop.  This way I only have to go to the store twice a month or so.  I have found that this method works best for my family.  It helps me keep my grocery bill low and I find that most veggies will stay good in my fridge for this length of time.  Anything that I think will go bad more quickly, like lettuce (It starts to turn brown in my fridge after about a week) we use up first.  Then the next week we use meals with frozen or canned veggies. 

This recipe is one that I adapted from an old recipe I found in my recipe box.  It's one that I use during my second week of meals, because it's mostly canned or frozen items.  Plus it's perfect for this rainy January that we've had here. 

Chicken Taco Soup
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 c chopped onion
2 tsp minced garlic
2 TBSP chili powder
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp salt
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
3 c water
3 chicken bullion cubes
1 can (drained) corn
1(4 ounce) can chopped mild green chilies
1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans (drained)
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
2 TBSP chopped cilantro, fresh is best
Tortilla Chips

Heat oil in a large soup pan over medium heat.  Add onion and garlic, saute until tender, about 4 minutes.  Add seasonings, tomato, water,  corn, chilies, beans, and chicken.  Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes. 

Stir in cilantro.  Then serve warm with tortilla chips.

This soup can also be made in a slow cooker.  Cook on low for 4-6 hours. 

Meatball Sub

Sometimes our weeks are crazy.  I'm sure you can all relate.  Between work, school, dance, karate, church activities, and well, just life, sometimes dinner is an after thought.

I try to keep some of our go-to meals on hand for times like that.  This meatball sub is one of our go to meals.  I keep rolls and meatballs in the freezer and a jar of spaghetti sauce in the pantry.  It's good to have meals like this on hand.  It is super yummy, and you can make it in about 10 minutes.


Meatball Sub

1 bag frozen meatballs (pre-cooked)
1 jar spaghetti sauce
Sub Rolls
Butter (optional)
Parmesan Cheese (optional)

Place a few meatballs on a glass plate and cook in microwave for about 3 minutes, until defrosted.  Place meatballs and enough spaghetti sauce in a pan on the stove and cook on medium for 53-6 minutes, just until everything is warmed through.  Meanwhile, butter the inside of your roll and place butter side down on a skillet set to high just long enough to melt the butter and crisp the edges.  Put meatballs & sauce on your roll, top with Parmesan cheese.  Enjoy!

Crock-pot Rotisserie Chicken

Sometimes when I'm in a hurry I like to stop at my local grocery store and grab one of the pre-cooked rotisserie chickens.  We eat a little bit and then I pull the rest of the chicken off the bones and freeze it for another meal.  It works great and we love it.  But every time I get one the chicken is a little smaller and the cost is a little higher.

The last time it happened, the chicken cost $9 and was barely enough for one meal.  When I looked at the size of the chicken, it was only about 4 lbs. (so $2.25 a lb) Seriously, there has got to be a better way, right?

I started shopping around for chicken and found that if i bought it uncooked, I could get it for less than $1 a lb.  I adore my crock-pot and I use it about 3 times a week.  So I thought for sure I could make my own.  I bought a 7 lb chicken for around $6.00. 

Then I searched online and found several different variations and ideas on how to cook the chicken.  There are tons of ideas out there, but here is how I made mine.

Crock-pot Rotisserie Chicken
1 uncooked chicken (mine was 7 lbs)
1/2 onion (optional)
Mrs Dash - Original Blend Seasoning

Thaw out your chicken.  Then remove the stuff that is tucked inside (heart, gizzards, etc).  Rinse out and pat dry with a paper towel.  Cut your onion into large pieces and tuck inside the chicken.  Then rub the entire outside of the chicken with Mrs. Dash seasoning and place it in the crock-pot.  Cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 6-7, until the chicken is cooked thoroughly and reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.

At this point you can eat the chicken.  But, if you want that beautiful golden skin, just scoop the chicken out of the crock-pot, put it on a cookie sheet and pop it in the oven on broil for about 5 minutes.  That's it.  Beautiful rotisserie chicken.  Plus it tastes every bit as good as the store bought and is half the cost.

As a side note, several recipes I found said to roll up balls of tin foil or potatoes and place in the bottom of your crock-pot then cook your chicken on top of that.  This is to help the chicken from cooking in its juices and falling off the bone.  But, I love really moist chicken and I don't mind if it's falling off the bone, so whatever you like the best.

Easy Freezer Meals

This month in our town it has been all about emergency preparedness.  With so much going on in the world, and disasters happening all over the place, even very close to home, we have been feeling a sense of urgency to work on our food storage. 

We were also counseled a couple of weeks ago to live within our means.  For me this meant that I needed to work on my budget.  The place we spend the most money is our food and unfortunately, even though I cook a lot, most of it takes place on the weekend.  During the week we are so guilty of eating out.  We eat out A-LOT!!!!  I mean a ridiculous amount.  So my sisters and I decided we would use recipes we already have, things we know our families love, and spend an afternoon making freezer meals. 

They are just nice to have on hand for all sorts of things.  Meals on the fly for when we are in a rush, or sick, or just don't feel like cooking. 

We chose 5 of our favorite dinners, 2 kinds of cookies, and 2 breakfast items.  We went shopping and kept the receipts because we wanted to be as accurate and we can be for those of your wanting to try it.

We also opted for the throw away pans, press n seal, heavy duty tin foil, and gallon size zip lock freezer bags for storage.

Before all the madness began, we stacked all of our groceries on the table.  We looked over our recipes and decided that one of us would start cooking our meats on the stove, while the other mixed her batch of cookies.   We had our sister Mary, and my daughters there helping us assemble things as we went along.

 Mary and Paige cooked the french toast sticks, while MaKady scooped the chocolate chip cookies onto the cookie sheets to be frozen. 

Meanwhile Tabitha put together the Shepherds Pie.

 After my batch of cookies I got my chicken enchiladas put together.

 We covered our pans with press n seal, then covered that with tin foil to help avoid freezer burn.

 We both shared the table so I could put together the lasagna and Tabitha scooped the chili into gallon size freezer bags.  We used freezer bags for things that don't need to bake in the oven in it's own container, like chili that will cook in a crock pot or on the stove, and Samoan chicken, which will get cooked on the grill.

 Next Tabitha made sugar cookies while I put together some breakfast burritos.

Here is what we made:

Shepherd's Pie - 3x this recipe (makes 48 servings)
Lasagna -2x this recipe (makes 38 servings)
Samoan Chicken - (makes 20 servings)
Chicken Enchiladas - 2x this recipe (makes 36 servings)
Chili - 3x this recipe (makes 60 servings)
Chocolate Chip Cookies (makes 6 dz, about 36 servings)
Sugar Cookies - 2x this recipe (makes 6 dz, 36 servings)
Breakfast Burritos - no recipe on this.  We scrambled 18 eggs, cooked 1 lb sausage, 1 lb bacon, 1 bag of cubed potatoes (in the freezer isle) and 30 flour tortillas.  Cook everything, mix together, then spoon into tortillas.  Roll and place in bags to freeze.  (makes 30 burritos, 30 servings)
French Toast Sticks - 2 loafs of bread, 18 eggs, a little bit of milk and cinnamon.  Cut each slice of bread into 3, dip in egg batter, then fry.  (Makes 8 dz, 24 servings)

In total, we have 328 servings of food.  Our groceries cost $150 for everything, with the exception of a few spices and flour that we already had on hand).

Each serving cost $0.46.  You guys!!!!  Seriously.  Compare that to what you would spend getting a pizza, which is about $1.00 per serving, or eating at McDonald's which is about $5.00 per serving.  You can see that a little bit of time is so worth it.

It took us 4 hours to get all this food done, and there were 4 of us working together.  Just a couple of notes:

1.  Plan ahead.
2.  Select meals that you know your family will eat.  It doesn't do anyone any good picking meals if your family won't eat them.
3.  Label your meals.  Write what it is, cooking instructions, and the date it was made.  
4.  Many hands make light work.

Now our freezers are full and we don't have to worry about spending money eating out.  Woohoo!!!

Super Bird Sandwich

When I went to Hawaii a billion years ago, ok not that long ago, but it seems like forever.  I figured out what the expensive part of the trip was.  It wasn't the flight or the hotel or even the activities for the day, it was the food.  Seriously!  We ate our first dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe in Honolulu and the bill for just myself was about $35.  Yikes!!  My friend and I discovered a Denny's right around the corner from our hotel and we averaged about $10 a meal.  Much more affordable, and thus my love of Denny's was born.

There are so many great things to eat there, from the pancake bites to the omelette's.  But my favorite sandwich is the Super Bird.  I order this about 95% of the time.  Then I figured out that I wanted to make it at home.  It's become a weekly thing for me now.  I hope you all enjoy!

Super Bird Sandwich

Sourdough Bread

Tomatoes

Turkey Lunch Meat

Bacon

Swiss Cheese

Butter

Butter one side of 2 slices of  bread.  Slice tomatoes.  Cook bacon (the best way is in the oven so they lay flat).  Then warm up either a frying pan or electric skillet to a medium heat.  You are going to make these the same way you would make a grilled cheese sandwich.  Lay one piece of bread, butter side down on warm skillet.  Then layer Swiss cheese, bacon, turkey, and tomato.  Then you put your second piece of bread on top, butter side up.  Cook on a medium heat till bread is toasted and a light golden brown.  Carefully flip your sandwich over and cook the other side.  Serve warm.

If you want to add mayonnaise or miracle whip you can, but I think the sandwich has enough flavor all on it's own.

Toasted Ravioli

 We are huge, and I mean huge fans of ravioli at my house.  It's been my favorite food since I can remember.  I mean honestly, I was cleaning out some closets this week as an early kick off to my spring cleaning and ran across a file folder that my mom gave me of my childhood school papers she kept.  One of them was a questionnaire from second grade.  It asked questions like, what's your favorite color, favorite movie, name of your best friend, and of course the old classic, what's you favorite food.  "Ravioli" even then I knew a good thing when I tasted it.  So, this week as we are getting ready to ring in the new year I thought it would be fun to come up with a new appetizer to serve my family and friends.

I've seen a few recipes for deep fried ravioli floating around on the web and I've even tried a few but they were each missing a little something.  Then I thought of how amazingly well our deep fried zucchini turned out and thought that would be perfect for our ravioli.  You can eat these as an appetizer, or a meal, served with a salad.

Toasted Ravioli

1 bag frozen ravioli (any variety)
1 c flour
1 tsp garlic powder
salt & pepper
1 c Italian bread crumbs
1/4 c Parmesan cheese
2 eggs
1/4 c milk
Marinara Sauce

Bring a pot of water to a boil.  Place frozen ravioli in water, boil 1 minute.  Drain.  In 3 separate bowls mix ingredients as follows:

Bowl 1 = flour, garlic powder salt & pepper
Bowl 2 = Eggs, milk
Bowl 3 = Bread Crumbs, Parmesan cheese

Line a cookie sheet with wax paper.  Then roll ravioli in flour mixture, then egg mixture, then bread crumb mixture.  Place on wax paper.  Do this for each ravioli.  Then chill in refrigerator for 1/2 hour. Deep fry in hot oil until golden, drain.  Serve with marinara sauce.

French Bread Pizza

Let's face it, sometimes I just don't have time to make extravagant meals.  Between work, kids, school, church responsibilities, soccer, dance, and everything else we have going on, sometimes I am just exhausted by the time I get home.  These are the nights I really need my "go to" meal.  You know, the meal you can put together in under 15 minutes.    I admit, I have several of these meals.  I usually keep the ingredients on hand for the times that we just need something to eat and fast.  This is one of our favorite "go-to" meals. 

French Bread Pizza

1 Loaf French Bread
1 jar favorite pizza sauce
Mozzarella Cheese
Pepperoni
(any other toppings you like)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Cut loaf of bread in half lengthwise.  Place on cookie sheet, crust side down.  Spread sauce evenly over bread, top with cheese and pepperoni.  Bake in oven for 10-14 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden.

Oven Baked Ribs

Mmmmm... Ribs.  There is not much more I need to say about these bad boys!  They are fall off the bone goodness.  My hubby got this recipe years ago and It's the only way I cook them now. 


Oven Baked Ribs

2-4lbs pork ribs
1/4c. salt
1/4c. sugar
18oz bottle of BBQ sauce
Paprika

Preheat oven to 250* F.  Mix equal amounts of salt and sugar, add paprika to taste.  Roll each portion of meat in sugar/salt/paprika mixture. Place meat in a large baking dish in about 1 inch of water.  Bake for 1 hour. Remove. Drain water and add BBQ sauce as needed.  Increase heat to 400* F. and Bake for 30 minutes.  Remove and Serve. 

Chicken Broccoli Curry

This recipe is an old family favorite, again it is one my Mom has made for years and years!  I have no idea how it is not already on this blog, but lucky for all of you I made it and am posting it now.  This is the dinner I chose EVERY SINGLE YEAR on my birthday, all the way till I graduated High School and moved away from home,  yes it really is THAT good!!

Chicken Broccoli Curry

2-3 chicken breasts
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 tsp. curry powder
2 T. miracle whip
1 T. lemon juice
2 T. dry onion
2 c. sour cream
Broccoli pieces

Cut chicken breasts into 1 inch pieces and fry in olive oil.  Sprinkle with salt.  In a separate bowl, combine cream of chicken soup, curry, miracle whip, lemon juice, onions, and sour cream.  Layer chicken and broccoli pieces in a greased casserole dish, cover with sauce.  Bake at 350* for 30 minutes.  (Good with buttered bread crumbs baked on top)---- Serve over rice!

Mom's Meatloaf

Mom's Meatloaf

1 1/2 lbs. hamburger
2 eggs
3/4 c. milk
1/2 c. breadcrumbs
1/4 c. chopped onion
1 tsp. dry chopped parsley
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. sage
1/8 tsp. pepper

Mix well, form a loaf.

If cooking in the oven
Bake at 350* for 1 hour. Spread with the sauce the last 10 minutes

If cooking in the crockpot
Cook at low temp for 6-8 hours or high 4-5.
Spread with sauce the last 30 minutes and have on high.

SAUCE

1/4 c. ketchup
2 T. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. mustard

(7/22/09)When most people think of meatloaf they think of A Christmas story where the little kid acts like a piggy and hates his meatloaf! right?... Well this meatloaf wont have you hating it! It tastes so good! We grew up eating this pretty much every Sunday! My mom is one of the best cooks I know and this has to be my all time favorite recipes of hers!

Update (6/10/14)----  I have been cooking this recipe a lot lately.  Originally when we posted this on our blog it only had the oven version on it but I have a hard time coming home from church on Sundays only to have to wait another hour for food so I tried it in the crockpot.  It turned out wonderful!!  It's really moist and delicious!  We end up eating the whole loaf because even my one year old likes seconds!

Samoan Chicken

My mom and I talked one day, a few months ago, about our usual subjects and recipes came up.  I gave her my hummus recipe and I told her how sick I was of cooking the same things, or new recipes that just weren't very good.  She started naming old tried and true recipes to see if I'd cooked them in a while.  Nothing sounded good... then she said Samoan Chicken.  I had no idea what she was even talking about because this is not a recipe I grew up with.  She got it only a few years ago from my sister Katie's friend, Amy's- Husband, who is in fact Samoan...  So you know this has to be good!  So I made it, and loved it!   And the next day we warmed it up and threw it on our salads and loved it even more!!!  My husband regularly asks me to marinade it so he can cook it on the grill.  This chicken is so good the next day, it's almost worth it to cook it, and wait 24 hours just to reheat and eat again.  So when you make this make extra  so you can have a round 2 recipe for a few days later in the week!


Samoan Chicken

1 small bottle of soy sauce
1/2 bag of brown sugar
1 1/2 piece of ginger peeled and chopped fine
             (or get it in a squeeze tube like me and use 1 1/2 T.)
2 cloves garlic chopped fine (or 1 tsp minced from jar)
3-4 lbs chicken thighs (or we do breasts a lot)

Mix together the soy sauce and brown sugar until mostly dissolved.  Then add ginger and garlic, and mix.  At this point you can either 
1-add the chicken and the marinade into freezer bags and pop them right into the freezer (thaw in the fridge 24 hours before grilling)..... 
2- or you can leave the marinade in your fridge over night like my mom does to let the flavors marinade add the chicken and let marinade the next day for 2 hours.
3- be like me and instead of the thighs which although is really good, I add breasts instead because that's what I usually have on hand and let the chicken thaw in the marinade most of the day.

Then when it's all ready,  throw it on the grill add marinade on top a few time to add more criminalization while grilling.  Grill until no longer pink in the middle.

This chicken is so versatile there is a few ways we eat it---

1- with the thighs we serve it with potatoes and gravy and a veggie
2-with breasts we serve it with rice-a-roni and a fruit salad
3- you could do kabobs and put it on sticks with veggies before grilling
4- the next day for lunch we usually warm up the chicken and serve it over a cold, crisp salad with ranch dressing (as seen in picture)
5- on big rolls as a sandwich

This is seriously the best chicken marinade and so good with so many things... play around with different sides and leave us a comment with what you come up with!  

Chicken, Bacon & Avocado Quesadilla

When I grocery shop, it is usually a 2 week list.  It's a big chunk of change for our family of 5 so I need to make it all stretch and last as long as possible.  When my 2 weeks worth of Dinners are made and gone I try and dig through my pantry and freezer and try to make as many meals as I possibly can before it is absolutely necessary to go back and do a big shopping trip yet again.  (This may sound vaguely familiar to some of you)..... Well this recipe is one that I threw together on one such night and it was delicious.

Chicken, Bacon, Avocado Quesadilla

8-10 tortillas

cooked, shredded chicken (about 4 chicken breasts)

taco seasoning packet

6 pieces bacon

shredded cheese (I used some mozzarella and cheddar I had on hand)

2 avocados, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

Fry the bacon, cut into smallish pieces and set aside.  While cooking your bacon you can also be cooking and shredding your chicken breast. Put the chicken into a pan and follow the instructions on the taco seasoning package.  set aside.

To make the Quesadillas-  Place one tortilla on a tortilla pan, (or any pan would do) on Med heat.  Layer some cheese, shredded chicken, bacon, avocado, a little more cheese and another tortilla on top.  When the cheese starts to melt and the tortilla starts to get a little crispy flip over. (you may need to use 2 spatulas)  and let the other side get crispy. Cut into 6-8 pizza type slices, and repeat with the remaining ingredients until you have 4-5 big quesadillas...then enjoy!

The best thing about this recipe is that you can add as much or as little of something as you would like.  If a kid doesn't like bacon, don't put it in theirs...but if you love bacon, load up!  My family liked dipping these into ranch and hot sauce.

Lasagna

Lasagna
1 lb ground beef
1/2 c chopped onion
1 large tomato, chopped
1 can  (10.75 oz) tomato soup
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce or 3 of the small cans
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp garlic seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
8-10 lasagna noodles
2 eggs
1 large container cottage cheese (small curd)
1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese
3-4 c grated mozzarella cheese
2 TBSP parsley

In a medium skillet, cook onion and meet till brown.  Drain off grease.  Stir in tomatoes, tomato soup, tomato sauce, garlic seasoning, Italian seasoning, and salt.  Set aside.

Meanwhile boil noodles for 10-12 minutes or till tender but still firm.  Drain noodles, rinse with cold water.

In a medium bowl, combine cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese, 1 1/2 cups of mozzarella cheese, eggs and parsley.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Prepare a 9x13 inch glass pan by spraying bottom with non-stick cooking spray.

Now you are going to put everything together in layers.  Start with a little bit of the meat sauce in the bottom of the pan, just barely enough to cover the bottom of the pan so the noodles don't stick.  Then you layer the noodles.  You will layer these lengthwise across the pan, so that the edges overlap by about 1/4 inch.  4-5 noodles across.  Then a layer of the cheese mixture.  Next a layer of sauce.  Then another layer of noodles, this time laying them width wise (you will have to cut them so they fit, I usually cut them about 2/3 of the way, then use the small piece leftover for the next section and so on till you cover your sauce and use the rest of the noodles).  Then a layer of cheese, then the rest of the sauce.  Top it all off with 2-3 cups of Mozzarella cheese.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, uncovered till cheese is melted and lasagna is heated all the way through.  Let stand for 10 minutes once you take it out of the oven and before serving.

We have been on a restricted diet at our house for the last 3 years, I have 2 kids who have had food allergies at different times.  My son had a gluten intolerance for 2 years that he was able to outgrow (though he still prefers to eat gluten free and won't eat things like cold cereal or bread)  and then my daughter developed a dairy allergy.  We have been working with an allergy specialist for the past 2 months and I am so happy to say that for once we can finally eat like we used to.  Last week while preparing a menu for our bi-weekly grocery trip, my daughter asked if we could have lasagna.  Something I haven't made in over 3 years.  I decided to give it a try, and voila.  It was as good as i remember. 

Ritz Cracker Chicken

Ritz Cracker Chicken
3 Chicken Breasts (thawed & cut into strips)
1/2 c Melted Butter
1 package Ritz Crackers
Salt

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease cookies sheet and set aside for the chicken. 

Put your crackers in a gallon size zip lock bag and crush to piecies (I usually use my rolling pin and roll it on the counter, this prevents any holes from being punctured through the bag).  Melt butter in a small microwaveable dish.    Cut chicken into strips.

Next take a chicken strip, dip it in the butter, then put it in the bag with the crushed crackers and shake it around till coated.  Place coated chicken on cookie sheet.  Continue this process till all chicken is coated and placed on pan.  Sprinkle the pieces of chicken with a little salt.  Bake for 15 minutes, then turn them over and bake another 15 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink in the middle and the crackers are nice and golden.

So the other night during dinner, I realized that I have made this recipe a thousand times and never posted it on the blog.  Big oops on my part.  It's an old family favorite.  My mom has made it for as long as I can remember.  When I called my sister to tell her that we had never put it on here she laughed and said that they had just had it for dinner as well. 

Bacon Ranch Chicken Salad

Bacon Ranch Chicken Salad

1/2 lb bacon
2 C  rotisserie chicken
1 C (cooked) bow tie pasta (or spiral)
Lettuce (about 2 cups)
Cherry Tomatoes (about 1/4 cup)
Ranch


Cut bacon into pieces and fry till crispy.  Set aside on paper towel to drain the grease and let cool completely.  Remove chicken from bones and cut into bite side pieces.  Rinse lettuce and tomatoes.  Break lettuce up into smaller pieces.  Put bacon, chicken, pasta, lettuce, and tomatoes in a large bowl.  Pour enough ranch over it to just coat the salad, you don't want to add to much. 

There isn't an exact science to this recipe.  I added as much lettuce and tomatoes as we like, but you can add less or more depending on your family.  You could also add onions, or whatever else you like.  It's a pretty versatile recipe and can be adapted in many ways.  We loved it because its a simple summer time meal.

Mongolian Beef & Broccoli

Mongolian Beef & Broccoli

1 lb. steak, (I used pre-cut lean stew meat)
1/3 c cornstarch
1/4 c vegetable oil
1 small package frozen broccoli florets

Sauce:
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 TBSP minced garlic
1/2 c soy sauce
1/2 c water
3/4 c brown sugar

In a medium bowl mix all ingredients for sauce.  Then set aside. 

Following the directions on the package, cook the broccoli and set it aside.

Slice the steak into 1/4 inch think bite size pieces.  Put the cornstarch in a 1 gallon zip lock bag, then put sliced steak into bag.  Shake to coat. Heat 1/4 c vegetable oil in a frying pan, add beef.  Cook on high heat until beef edges begin to brown, you don't need to cook the beef all the way through as it will continue cooking once sauce is added.

Add sauce to frying pan with steak and saute over medium heat for 10 minutes, or until sauce thickens.  Add broccoli.

Serve over rice.