Easy--Yet Fun--Breakfast

If you want to make a breakfast that is a little fun and fancy without being time-consuming, this incredibly easy recipe is for you.

Chocolate-Filled Crescents

Ingredients:

1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1/2 cup mini-chocolate chips
Powdered sugar, if desired

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Separate dough into 8 triangles.

Place one tablespoon of chocolate chips on wide end of each triangle. Roll up, starting at shortest side of triangle, rolling to opposite point. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Source: Pillsbury website. You can find it here.

Notes: These were so easy and I love that this recipe is so basic and simple, yet it has so many possibilities. I mean, you don't have to use mini chocolate chips. You could use regular sized chocolate chips...and therefore, you could use different flavors of chips...white chocolate chips, butterscotch, peanut butter, etc.

I mean, think of how good these would be with white chocolate chips and a teaspoon of raspberry or strawberry jam rolled up with the chips?

You could even drizzle these with melted chocolate chips instead of, or in addition to, the powdered sugar.

I Love These!

I found this recipe and thought, "That will be nice to try. It sounds good." However, unbeknownst to me, I was about to try one of the best slow cooker recipes EVER! The tzatziki is one of the best I have ever had. The chicken is so flavorful. I tried first with my own pitas (using thawed Rhodes Dough rolls--see the notes for more info) and second, in wrap form with regular flour tortillas. It is fantastic both ways.

Hmmm...I may have to make this again sometime soon.

Slow-Cooker Chicken Gyro Bowls

Ingredients:

Chicken:

2 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast (or use skinless thighs)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Juice of 1/2 medium lemon
1/3 cup water

Tzatziki:

16 oz plain Greek yogurt
1/2 English (hothouse) cucumber or 1 regular cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced small
2 to 3 cloves garlic, grated or finely minced
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dried dill weed
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
Salt and pepper, to taste
Juice of 1/2 medium lemon
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Tortillas and Toppings:

8 to 12 Old El Paso Stand 'N Stuff soft flour tortillas, heated as directed on package (see notes)
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup grape tomatoes, sliced
1 cup crumbled feta cheese (4 oz)

Directions:

Spray 4-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Add all Chicken ingredients to slow cooker; stir. Cover; cook on low heat setting 6 to 8 hours or on high heat setting 4 to 6 hours.

Meanwhile, make Tzatziki. In medium bowl, stir together all Tzatziki ingredients except oil. Drizzle 1 tablesspon oil over top. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving to allow flavors to meld.

Remove cooked chicken from slow cooker, and shred with 2 forks. Divide chicken among tortillas. Top each with Tzatziki, red onion, grape tomatoes, and feta cheese.

Recipe notes: Full fat Greek yogurt works best for this, but 2% works as well. You want the yogurt to be thick, so if your Greek yogurt seems thin, strain it through a fine mesh strainer.

Source: Betty Crocker website. You can find it here.

Notes: As I said before sharing the recipe, I served this originally with homemade pitas made from thawed Rhodes Dough. Simply thaw desired amount of dough and let it rise. Break off tennis ball sized pieces of dough and stretch to form a circle. Place in heated (medium to medium-high heat) pan and lightly brown both sides (only about 30-45 seconds per side). Top with chicken and toppings and fold over. My husband had them with the red onions, I didn't (that's why the pictures don't have red onions on them).

Once the pitas were gone, I still had leftover chicken, toppings, and tzatziki so I started making wraps with regular flour tortillas (not the bowls). They tasted great too.

This was seriously so good. My mouth was watering as I typed this up. I had the leftovers for lunch for a few days after I made this and it was to die for.

Enjoying a Hot Bowl of Soup

Every soup season brings in new soup discoveries. Here is a soup recipe that will warm you up and hit the spot.

Santa Fe Chicken Enchilada Stew

Ingredients:

4 corn tortillas (6 inch), cut into strips (I used more than 4 tortillas, see notes)
1 tsp. oil (see notes)
1 pkg. (8 oz) cream cheese (see notes)
1 cup, plus 2 tbsp. milk, divided
1 pkg. taco seasoning mix
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed
1 can (11 oz) corn with red and green bell peppers, drained
2 cans (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for serving
Splash of lime juice

Directions:

Heat oven to 400 degrees F.

Toss tortilla strips with oil; spread into single layer on rimmed baking sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes, or until crisp, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, mix cream cheese, 2 tbsp. milk, and taco seasoning until blended. Cook chicken in large saucepan sprayed with cooking spray on medium-high heat 8 to 10 minutes, or until done, stirring frequently. Stir in cream cheese mixture, remaining milk, beans, corn, tomatoes, and cilantro; simmer on medium-low heat 6 to 8 minutes or until heated through, stirring frequently. Add a splash of lime juice, to your taste.

Serve topped with tortilla strips and additional cilantro.

Source: Kraft website. You can find it here.

Notes: I used more corn tortillas (I didn't keep track of how many though) because we like to add a lot of corn tortilla strips to our soup. Besides, this was a lot of soup and that way, we had enough tortilla strips for our leftover soup as well. Also, rather than tossing them with a teaspoon of oil, I simply sprayed them with cooking spray.

I added salt and pepper, to taste, and I added an extra can of diced tomatoes. I increased the cilantro and stirred some of it into the soup. I also added a little lime juice. This was really good soup.

My Husband's Kind of Chili

My husband prefers his chili to have huge chunks of meat in it--not ground meat--cubed. So, if you or someone you love feels the same way, this chili recipe is for you!

Tex-Mex Chili Recipe

Ingredients:

3 pounds beef stew meat
1 tablespoon canola oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 cans (16 ounces each) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
2 cans (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
2 cups salsa verde
1 envelope chili seasoning
2 teaspoons dried minced onion
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Shredded cheese, minced fresh cilantro, and other favorite chili toppings

Directions:

In a large skillet, brown beef in oil in batches. Add garlic, cook 1 minute longer. Transfer to a 6-qt. slow cooker.

Stir in the beans, tomato sauce, tomatoes, tomato paste, salsa verde, and seasonings. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or until meat is tender. Garnish each serving with cheese, cilantro, and other favorite chili toppings.

Yield: 12 servings (1 1/3 cups each)

Source: This has been modified from a recipe I found on Taste of Home. You can find the original recipe here.

Notes: So, let me explain the changes I made. The original recipe called for 3 (15 oz) cans of tomato sauce and a cup of water. I felt like this made the chili far too soupy and way too tomato saucey for my tastes. The recipe also only called for one can of diced tomatoes. I increased it to two cans of diced tomatoes (to keep the tomato flavor, but also to make it chunkier). It also only called for 3/4 cup of salsa verde and 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin.

In order to get this chili just the way I wanted it, I used only 1 can of tomato sauce, increased the diced tomatoes, omitted the water, and in its place, I increased the salsa verde (still enough liquid, but much more flavor). I also increased the cumin because I really like cumin and felt that 1/2 teaspoon wasn't enough.

You can tailor the heat to your own tastes by choosing mild, medium, or hot chili seasoning. The first time, I made it with hot chili seasoning (without the other changes I incorporated later). The second time, I used medium. Personally, I preferred the medium. I felt like there was just the right amount of heat and I preferred the flavor when I used the medium chili seasoning.

With the changes I made, I felt like this chili turned out perfect for our tastes. In fact, I might even add an extra can of kidney beans in the future just to make it a little chunkier and help it stretch a little farther. This also made fantastic leftovers. Yummy!

Easiest Green Bean Casserole Ever

As has already been established, I am very, very behind on my posts. This is usually a Thanksgiving staple rather than something you crave in the spring, so file this one away for Thanksgiving 2015. It is an incredibly easy side dish to throw together...which is really nice because Thanksgiving dinner is so time consuming and labor intensive to make. This recipe is an easy way to fit in another side dish without taking up a ton of extra time.

Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients:

2 cans (14.5 oz each) French-style green beans, drained
1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup (see notes)
1/4 cup milk (see notes)
1 can (2.8 oz) French-fried onions (see notes)

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. In 1 1/2 quart casserole or glass baking dish, mix green beans, soup and milk.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes, topping with onions during last 5 minutes of baking, until bubbly.

Recipe notes: You can substitute cream of chicken or cream of celery soup if you like. You can also get this dish ready the day before. Store covered in your fridge until ready to bake. Add a few extra minutes of bake time because it will be cold when it goes in the oven.

Source: Betty Crocker website. You can find it here. An almost identical recipe can be found on the Pillsbury website (they are sister websites owned by the same parent company--in fact, the picture is the same one on both sites). You can find that one here.

Notes: The ingredient amounts/sizes are slightly different between the Betty Crocker and Pillsbury websites. The recipe listed above is from Betty Crocker. I actually followed the Betty Crocker recipe in regard to the cream of mushroom soup/milk, but the Pillsbury recipe for the French-fried onions. Let me explain. The changes on the Pillsbury website are to use an 18 ounce can of Progresso creamy mushroom soup that is not condensed (instead of the condensed soup), and as a result, the milk is eliminated in that recipe. The Pillsbury recipe also uses a 6 oz can of French-fried onions instead of a 2.8 oz can and calls for mixing half of the can into the green bean mixture and topping the remaining half of the can on top of the green beans.

So, this recipe is flexible. It is up to you! Use condensed soup...or not! Also, add your own desired amount of French-fried onions.

Personally, I think I will follow the Betty Crocker recipe exclusively in the future. I loved the onions on the top, but I found the onions that were mixed into the green bean mixture to be a little overpowering and distracting. It was just a little too oniony for my tastes. Plus, the onions that were mixed in ones got a little soggy and I prefer them crunchy. However, even still, this is really good and really easy...and easy to customize to your own tastes!

Scandinavian Style

 

My family has some Swedish heritage (along with Irish and Hispanic...), so once upon a time, we were looking for some good Scandinavian recipes. Now, I don't know where my mom found this recipe or how authentically Norwegian it is, but it is amazing. So, here you go!

Norwegian Rice and Cream with Raspberry Sauce

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups boiling water
1 tsp. salt
1 cup long grain rice
Approx. 2/3 cup milk
Approx. 1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. almond extract (or more, to taste)
2 cups whipped cream

Raspberry Sauce:

2 (10 oz.) pkg. raspberries
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 cup water
Dash of salt
Sugar, to taste
Lemon juice, to taste

Directions:

Boil water in 1 1/2 quart saucepan. Add salt. Stir in rice slowly as water boils. Cover. Simmer for 30 minutes. Add enough milk to barely fill in rice until level with the top of the rice. Cover pan and simmer for another 30 minutes till milk is absorbed. Stir in sugar and almond extract. Chill. Just before serving, fold in whipped cream and top with sauce.

 

Raspberry Sauce:

Add water to frozen raspberries. Bring to boil. Add enough water to make 3 cups. Combine cornstarch with a little cold water. Stir into raspberries. Cook until thick and clear. Add salt, sugar, and lemon juice to taste. Chill. Serve over rice.

This may also be used to top pound cake or ice cream. 

Source: We have had this recipe for years and I have no idea where my mom found it or got it from.

Notes: We usually double this so that we have a big batch to feed our whole extended family for dessert. This is so absolutely delicious. Yum!

It's a Side! It's a Main Dish Staple! It's A Soup Staple!

I made this the other day just for Laurie.  She loves, loves, loves tomatoes!  We bought Costco grape tomatoes because they are just so good, but we are saving this again for summertime garden gifts.

Roasted Tomatoes with Garlic

Ingredients: 

4 cups grape tomatoes
4 cloves garlic, sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat over to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Place a piece of aluminum foil over a baking sheet.

Place the tomatoes and garlic into a mixing bowl. Drizzle with olive oil, and toss until evenly coated. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then spread evenly onto the prepared baking sheet.

Bake the grape tomatoes in the preheated oven until skins pop and start to brown, 15 to 20 minutes.

Source:  Allrecipes.com, Submitted by Jodi. You can find it here.

We did these as a side, but Laurie said it would be great tossed with pasta, maybe add a little basil, chopped cooked bacon. She took home leftovers and served them with polenta and she said it was a great, inexpensive dinner. I think this would be a great addition to soup or chili.  I can't say how easy this was. Oh, and did I mention yummy?

Cook's note:  I used bottled minced garlic and tossed these in a ziploc before placing them on the pan to cook.

 

Above: September 2015 update: These tomatoes were fantastic tossed with pasta, just as Laurie had previously suggested.