This is a super easy and inexpensive one!
Ingredients
4 frozen chicken breasts
1/2 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. teriyaki sauce
1 can pineapple chunks, drain half the juice out
Crushed red pepper flakes
Directions
Throw it all in the crockpot and turn it on. My chicken was not frozen so I cooked it on low for 4 hours and it was perfect.
Serve over rice or noodles with broccoli! Delicious!
** Recipe from: www.sixsistersstuff.com **
This is one of the most familiar items on the menu at Outback Steakhouse—I seriously think I’ve only eaten their three times, but certainly ate this each time I was there. Good stuff. I can’t say if it really tastes like the “real thing” but it is good regardless!
Ingredients
4 chicken breast, pounded to an even thickness
1 bottle Lawry's Original Seasoned Salt marinade
4 slices bacon
1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 cups cheddar jack cheese, shredded
1/2 cup honey mustard dressing
Directions
1. Marinate the chicken in the Lawry's Original Seasoned Salt marinade for at least 30 minutes. The longer the better.
2. While the chicken is marinating, cook the bacon in a large skillet. Set aside. Reserve 2 Tablespoons of bacon fat. Sauté mushrooms in bacon fat until softened. Set aside.
3. Grill the chicken 12-15, minutes until done. You can also cook the chicken in a skillet on the stove if desired.
4. Preheat the broiler on your oven. Place cooked chicken on a rimmed baking sheet. Spread 1-2 Tbsp honey mustard on cooked chicken. Top with bacon, mushrooms and cheese. Broil until cheese is melted.
Tips from a Kitchen of Reality:
I am a bit of a thrifty shopper and wasn’t buying the marinade since I had the actual Lawry’s Seasoning Salt in my cabinet. I just sprinkled the chicken with it and let it sit in the fridge about a 1/2 hour.
I also used plain old cheddar—it was what was in the fridge! Still very tasty!
** Recipe from www.plainchicken.com **
Can you tell that we have had a week of new recipes!? While sometimes it might get boring with the same type of food throughout the week, I’ve found that it works better with my budget to make things with similar ingredients. So 3 of the last 7 days—we’ve had Mexican food.
Ingredients
1 pound lean ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
2 1/2 cups salsa
1 can (15 ounces) black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup Italian salad dressing
2 tablespoons taco seasoning
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
6 small flour tortillas
1 small can of drained corn
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Mexican cheese blend
1 cup shredded lettuce
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
Directions
1. In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.
2. Stir in the salsa, beans, dressing, sour cream, corn, taco seasoning and cumin.
3. Spoon a generous layer of meat mixture on bottom of baking dish. Sprinkle with grated cheese.
4. Place a flour or corn tortilla on top of meat mixture. Layer with half of the meat mixture, and cheese. Repeat as many layers as you like.
5. The last & final layer should be grated cheese.
6. Cover with foil that has been sprayed and bake at 400° for 25 minutes, or until hot & bubbly.
7. Let stand for 5 minutes before topping with lettuce, tomato and cilantro.
Tips from a Kitchen of Reality:
- I made mine in a 9 x 13 pan. Made two stacks of three tortillas each and was able to just cut it out in squares to serve.
- Of course I left out the onion and cilantro and I used the random mix of cheese I had in the fridge—but it still was delicious. Nothing new and exciting, just rearranged a little.
(Recipe from Just Get Off Your Butt and Bake)
So my my husband asked me while eating dinner, “Is this just a glorified hamburger helper recipe?” Good question… I’ve never eaten hamburger helper, so perhaps it is. He quickly tried to make up for the fact that it wasn’t from a box by saying “It tastes much better than that, you can tell it has fresh ingredients.” Yea, yea. Too late for that now Mister! It was a great change up from our normal Mexican meals, definitely kid friendly, hope you enjoy it.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef or turkey
- 8-12 ounces medium pasta shells
- 1 small onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes with mild green chilies, drained (if making this for kids you might want to use just plain diced tomatoes)
- 1 packet (4 tablespoons) taco seasoning
- 3 ounces cream cheese
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Salt and pepper
Directions
1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook pasta according to the package directions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water. Set aside.
2. In a large skillet, cook the ground meat over medium-high heat until no longer pink. A few minutes before the meat is cooked through, add the chopped onion to the skillet. Once the meat is cooked through, mix in the garlic, taco seasoning, and diced tomatoes. Let simmer over medium heat for about 3-5 minutes.
3. Stir in the cooked pasta, cream cheese, sour cream and reserved pasta water, and continue stirring until the cream cheese is melted and the sauce is well blended. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer over medium-low heat 3-5 minutes to reduce the sauce a bit if it is still too thin.
4. Toss in the cilantro right before serving for some fresh color and flavor. Serve with a green salad.
Tips from a Kitchen of Reality:
- I left out the onion and cilantro. Not big fans of either. Since I was hoping the kids would eat it, and one of the two did, I didn’t get the tomatoes with chilies.
- Didn’t think it was going to thicken up, but it did. Just be patient.
I love a recipe with fresh asparagus. This is a good one, no changes made or needed. ENJOY!
Ingredients
- 1 pound asparagus
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 pound penne
- 1/4 pound butter, cut into pieces
- 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
Directions
1. Heat the oven to 400°. Snap the tough ends off the asparagus and discard them. Cut the spears into 1-inch pieces. Put the asparagus on a baking sheet and toss with the oil and 1/4 teaspoon each of the salt and pepper. Roast until tender, about 10 minutes.
2. Put the vinegar in a small saucepan. Simmer until 3 tablespoons remain. Stir in the brown sugar and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Remove from the heat.
3. Cook the penne in a large pot of boiling, salted water until just done, about 13 minutes. Drain the pasta and toss with the butter, vinegar, asparagus, Parmesan, and the remaining 1 3/4 teaspoons salt.
**Recipe from www.foodandwine.com**
I’ve had this recipe pinned on Pinterest for awhile, friends have made and then my sister made them. Decided it was time I made them.
Ingredients:
1 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup peanut butter (or other nut butter)
1/3 cup honey
1 cup coconut flakes
1/2 cup ground flaxseed
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla
Directions:
- Mix everything together.
- Refrigerate 1 hour – then roll into 1 inch balls.
- Store in airtight container in fridge for one week. (They won’t last that long.)
Tips:
- Substitute away with this recipe! I used whole flax seeds and mini M&M’s and less coconut this first round. Anything to get the kiddos to eat them.
YUM! Try this as an easy dinner or as a side – you’ll be glad you did!
Ingredients:-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cook tortellini according to directions.
- Cook bacon in skillet until crisp, remove from pan.
- Reserve two tablespoons bacon drippings in pan and discard the rest. Add garlic and cook about 1 minute. Add flour to pan and stir with a whisk for about 1 minute. Slowly add milk and continue to stir with whisk until smooth.
- Add salt, pepper, basil, and red pepper flakes and bring sauce to a simmer.
- While sauce is heating, zest lemon. Then cut lemon in half and remove juice. Add 1 teaspoon zest and 2 teaspoons lemon juice to sauce. Continue to stir until thickened, 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Drain tortellini and place back in pot. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the cooked bacon and add the rest to the pasta mixture. Add spinach, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Add sauce and gently stir to combine. Place pasta mixture in a baking dish and top with remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella and 1/4 cup parmesan and also crumbled bacon.
- Cover pan with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, until cheese on top is melted and pasta is bubbly. Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Tips from a Kitchen of Reality:
- I didn’t have a lemon, just used lemon juice. I’m sure the lemon flavor would have been stronger had I used a real lemon.
- I could only find the 8 oz bags ot tortellini at Walmart—so I bought two and used them both so we would have leftovers for lunch and dinner tomorrow. I had plenty of sauce to go around without adding anything extra.
Originally from Our Best Bites Website.
Mark needed to take potato salad to work tomorrow, so I went for a new recipe. I get tired of the same old potato salad, you know?!?
Well, it turned out DELICIOUS!! Would be fabulous with burgers right off the grill. Try it, you’ll like it!
Ingredients:
Boil potatoes until tender.
Cook bacon until crisp, and cut into one inch pieces.
In a bowl, combine mayonnaise, sour cream, vinegar, salt and pepper.
Fold in green onions, cheese, potatoes and bacon.
Serve immediately or refrigerate.
