Menu Week of Jan 31 to Feb 5

Monday January 31-Chicken Carbonara

Tuesday February 1-Taco Pizza

Wednesday February 2- Meatball Subs
Thursday February 3-Oven Baked Parmesan Garlic Chicken Breast

Friday February 4-Order Out/left overs
Saturday February 5-Breakfast-thinking oatmeal pancakes with eggs
or maybe a new french toast recipe. I will have to check
with the wee one on what she would like-as she loves her some
french toast! :)


This week I'm also going to be making some soups to freeze
and to take to a friend that just had a baby. I will post those recipes
as well.

Have a great week!!!

Lots of Chocolate Cookies

So there are chocolate chip cookes,chocoalte cookies and

then there aer Lots of Chocolate Cookies!!!
These are wonderful!!!!!

Look at all the chocolatly goodness in dough form!

And they are even better baked!!!

Recipe:

1 1/2 Cup of Butter-softened

1 Cup Shortening

8 oz cream cheese-softened

1/4 cup milk

4 eggs

4 1/2 cups of flour

2 cups packed brown sugar

1 cup of granulated sugar 

1/2 cup cocoa powder

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1-12 oz bag of semi sweet chocolate chips

1 bag of mnm's(i used plan) but you could use whatever kind you desire!

Preheat oven to 350.
In a large mixing bowl add butter,shortening,cream cheese and sugars.
Mix together until creamy. Add in vanilla,eggs,cocoa powder and milk.
 Mix well, slowly add in the dry ingredients. When mixed well
add in your chocolate chips and mnm's. I add mine and then mix
with the mixer, it breaks the candy and chips up a little makes them
even better!!

Drop by spoonful on to ungreased cookie sheets and bake
for 8-12 minutes until firm and slightly golden brown.

Happy Baking!!

Fried Rice w/Teriyaki Chicken

Yummy Chinese!!

Its pretty easy but a little time consuming.

But it makes enough for 2 if not 3 meals so its worth the extra

time for all those meals covered!

Recipe:

2-3 cups of rice cooked follow package directions

2-3 chicken breasts cooked anyway you like( i throw mine in the crock pot w/teriaki and garlic)

1/2 head of cauliflower (aka white flower in our house)

1/2 head of broccoli

3 carrots peeled and diced

1/2 cups teriyaki sauce

2 gloves of garlic-minced

2 eggs beaten at room temperature

1 tablespoon butter or oil

*any other veggies you want to throw in it

* In a large pan steam veg until aldente, drain and set aside. In an even bigger pan! Melt butter or oil and saute garlic, then add in beaten eggs and stir,scrape the pan until eggs are done. At this point you may add a little bit more oil then add in your cooked rice and stir and "fry" until slightly browned about 5 minutes or so, you will need to continue to stir.

*For veg and chicken, chop/shred chicken and place pan with your teriayki sauce and veggies, cook till mixed and warm.
ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!
Happy almost Friday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Egg Casserole

I have no pictures of this recipe as I mixed it up

for Mitch to make for the kids tonight as I had to work:(

But its super easy and always a hit!

Recipe

1/2-1lb of ground sauage( I use turkey) browned

1/2 cup shredded cheese

6-10 eggs beaten

1/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon black pepper

Misc chopped veggies

Beat eggs,black pepper and milk together, and then pour

into a casserole dish the more eggs the bigger the dish!

Add in your sauage,cheese and veggies.

Bake at 350 for 35-60m depending on the size and depth of the

casserole dish you are using. I like to use a 9x9 pan

its enough for a family of 4. But if its a week of busy

mornings I will use my 9x13 pan for left overs!

It also freezes great!

we like to cut it up into single serving size and wrap in

plastic wrap and freeze. Then we pull 1 or 5 out to warm up

and we make a sandwhich out of it on a whole wheat

english muffin or bagel.

Yummy!

CheeseBurger Casserole

How about ground meat,cheese,potatoes and whatever 

else you want to thrown in 1 pan!

This is a yummy easy dish! You can prep

a day or 2 before. And kids LOVE it!

Brown your meat with garlic and/or onion

I sliced my potatoes in the food processor,

you could use frozen fries too.

Yummy everything all layered together!

 

After baking in the oven its all gooey and yummy!

Recipe:

1 lb ground beef,turkey you could use chicken as well

1 glove garlic diced

1 small onion diced

1 can cream of mushroom soup(i have used cheese soup to)

2 cups frozen corn or peas

3 medium potatoes washed and sliced (i have used frozen fries and tator tots)

1 cup shredded cheese

1 teaspoon black pepper 

*in a skillet saute onion,garlic,black pepper and ground meat until meat is browned-drain. Return to skillet and mix in your soup and you may need to add a small amount of milk, you want it to be a creamy consistency. At this point layer in the bottom of a casserole dish, then layer with your veggie, then your cheese and then your potatoes or fries. 

Bake at 400 for around 20-25 minutes until the fries or potatoes are golden brown and crispy.

** you can prepare everything and put in a foil baking pan and freeze for up to 3 months. Then pull out of freezer when ready to eat and bake at 350 for about 1 hour***

HAPPY MONDAY!!!!!

New Poll

I have a new poll in my side bar! please participate!
new recipes coming this week! :):)

Menu Week of 1/23-1/29

Menu Time

Sunday 1/23= no cooking for me, dinner with my grandparents

Monday 1/24 Taco Bake

Tuesday 1/25 Egg Casserole(breakfast-carried from last week)

Wednesday 1/26 Hot sub sandwiches with soup Chicken Friend Rice

Thursday 1/27 Left overs

Friday 1/28 Turkey Meatloaf

Saturday 1/29 Order Out 

Enjoy! Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Oven Baked Pork Chops in a Chunky Tomatoe Garlic Sauce

I seared(2m on each side) the pork chops in a large 

skillet in olive oil and then transfer to a casserole

Saute onion and garlic in drippings from meat

then added 1 tablespoon flour-

cook for about another 2 minutes

the deglaze the pan with 1 cup of chicken broth

Add in 1 can of diced tomatoes,black pepper

salt,cumin and paprika bring to a 

boil and cook till thickened about 5 minutes

Pour sauce over pork chops and cover with foil

bake at 325 for 2 hours

 

After baking in the oven! The meat

was falling off the bones!!

They were wonderful!

Recipe:

4 pork chops thawed

1 medium onion-diced

2 gloves garlic-diced

2 teaspoons black pepper

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika

1 can diced tomatoes

1 cup chicken broth

1 tablespoon flour

1 tablespoon olive oil

* in large skillet heat olive oil, sear pork chops about 2 minutes on each side, remove from pan and place in a large baking dish.  Saute onion and garlic in drippings from pan-about 4 minutes, mix in flour cook another 1 minutes,  then add in chicken broth while scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon, bring to a boil, reduce hit to simmer, and let simmer until thickened. At this point add in tomatoes,cumin,paprika,pepper and bring to a boil, boil for another 5-7 minutes. Pour over pork chops and cover with foil. Bake at 325 for 2 hours. 

Italian Meat and Mac

This is a great one, make ahead and freeze!
3 cups of whole wheat pasta
1 lb of ground turkey
20 turkey pepperonie cut into 4's
1 garlic clove-minced
1 teaspoon oregano
1 jar/can of your favorite tomatoe pasta sauce
1/2 cup of shredded motzerella cheese
Pre heat oven to 350.
cook pasta according to package directions, place in a caserole dish.
In a medium skillet brown garlic,oregano and ground turkey until done-add to the pasta, mix in
the pepperonie. Stir in the sauce and then top with the cheese.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and ooy-gooy looking!!!
Enjoy!!

Whole Wheat Chicken and Dumplings

This was really good and with the wheat dumplings

it still tastes the same and has the same texture as

the originals!

For stew part:
3-4 boneless/skinless chicken breast
2 chicken bouillon cubes
4 cups of h20
1-2 carrots chopped
1 teaspoon black pepper

For Dumplings
2 Cups whole wheat flour
4 teaspoons of baking powder
1-1/2 cups of water
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon butter

In crock pot or on a large pot on the stove combine chicken,water,bouillon cubes,carrots and pepper and cook until chicken is falling apart. About 6 hours in crock pot on high.

Once chicken is done you want to make sure that the chicken is covered in broth if not you may need to add more...bring to a boil. then mix up dumplings.
TO mix dumpling combine all ingredients in mixing bowl and then drop on top of stew by teaspoons, steam for about 12-20 minutes on the stove or for 1 hour in the crock pot.

Chocolate Sugar Cream Pie

Sugar cream pie and chocolate? Yes Please!

1 1/3 cups of granulated sugar
3/4 cups of flour
3 tablespoons of cocoa powder
1 cup of whipping cream
1/2 cup of milk
1 tablespoon unsalted butter cut into small pieces
1 prepared pie crust(unbaked)

Preheat oven to 450

Combine all ingredients except the butter in a mixing bowl and then pour in to prepared pie crust. place pieces of butter on top. Bake in oven on 450 for 10 minutes and then reduce heat to 350 and cook an additional 35-40 minutes.

When done should be a little soft to touch similar to a custard or cheese cake. Cool completely before cutting. Enjoy!!! It was wonderful!!!

Pork Loin Roast with Apple BBQ glaze

Pork Loin Roast with Apple BBQ glaze

So I had a what to do for dinner with this roast f

or dinner this morning. So I totally winged it and it was wonderful!!
My daughter ate more meat the I did!

1-3-5lb Pork Roast
1/4 cup H20
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves diced
1 small onion diced
2 granny smith apples diced
1 tablespoon worshishire sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoon BBQ seasoning
1 teaspoon black pepper

Prepare a 5-6 qt crock pot=-place roast in and let set.
In medium saute pan heat oil on medium high heat , saute garlic,onion, and apples until tender about 5 minutes or so. Add all the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and poor over meat in crock pot. Cover with lid and cook on high for 8 hours. When meat is done, remove and poor gravy into sauce pan and thicken with corn starch mixed w/a little water and bring to a boil.

Whole Wheat Pizza

Who doesn't LOVE pizza?

                                                       So why not make it healthier right?
                                             
                                                Whole wheat crust with turkey pepperoni and

sausage and low fat cheese make it extra

                                                                             healthy.

Yummy!!!

All it needs is 20 minutes in the oven until

    pure pizza heaven!!

Recipe:

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup of all purpose flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2-2 cups of water
1 package rapid rise yeast
1-2 cups of pizza sauce
1/2 lb of turkey sausage browned and drained
20 turkey pepperoni
1- 1/2 cups of low fat mozzarella cheese
1- 1 1/2 cups any misc veggies


Combine-yeast,flour,salt,sugar in the bowl of your mixer with a dough hook attached. Start mixer on low and slowly add in oil and water. Mix until dough is soft and stretchy about-5 minutes or so. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 10-20 minutes.


Roll pizza dough out on a floured surface transfer to a pizza pan or stone and top with the toppings. I always make mine early in the day and then leave in the refrigerator for the evening.


Bake at 425 for 20-25 minutes until crust is golden brown and cheese is bubbly.

White Chicken Spinach Lasanga

Lasanga can get borning as with any

meal I guess! But this is a totally

mixed up version of lasanga.
And is a keeper at my house, says the peanut

gallery know as my hubby and kids!

Browning meat with garlic!!

Noodles( i had a couple

white ones so I used them up)

Recipe:
1 lb ground chicken-browned

1 large garlic clove minced

1 small onion diced

1 tablespoon olive oil

10-12 lasagna noodles cooked and drained

4 oz fat free cream cheese

1 cup of fat free cottage cheese

2 cups baby spinach leaves

1 tablespoon oregano

1 tablespoon parsley

1 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 -2 cups low fat mozzarella cheese(shredded)

4 cups of low fat/fat free alfredo sauce(I make my own)*recipe to follow

* saute onions and garlic in a large pan with olive oil, add in chicken and cook till browned-drain.

* in a food processor combine cream cheese,cottage cheese,spinach leaves,oregano,parsley and black pepper.Blend until smooth and creamy

*assemble lasagna in the normal fashion noodles,cheese mixture,meat,sauce and then shredded cheese, add two more layers in that order. Top with remaining meat,sauce and cheese.Cover with foil. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes.

*alfredo sauce recipe:
1 tablespoon butter or margarine

1/4 cup flour

2 teaspoon garlic powder

1- 1/2 cups skim milk

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Melt butter in a medium sauce pan stir in flour, cook for about 3-5 minutes slowly whisk in milk, will be slightly lumpy, once thickened add in parmesan cheese and garlic powder. If you would like it thinner at this point add more milk.

SOrry I don't have a pic of the finished product! :(

Menu for the week of 1/17 through 1/22

Monday January 17-Chicken Lasagna

Tuesday January 18-Oven Baked Pork Chops

Wednesday January 19-Leftovers

Thursday January 20-Homemade Pizza w/whole wheat crust

Friday January 21-order food out

Saturday January 22-Breakfast(undecided as to what yet)

I will post the recipes through the week!
Hope this helps you plan your upcoming meals!!
:)

Chocolate Tapioca Pudding

Tapioca is pretty yummy, but can be

kind of boring! So how about super yummy,creamy

and chocolaty tapioca? Its wonderful!!!

The finished product with some

vanilla whipped cream on top

Before chilling the in fridge for 4 hours
Before the magic of the stove topRecipe:

1 cup of milk(either variety is fine)

1 cup of whipping cream

2 eggs

1/2 cup of sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup of tapioca granuals

Beat together,eggs,sugar,salt and cocoa powder, over medium heat stir

in the milk,cream and tapioca granuals, bring to just a boil

Once it starts to thicken remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Chill for 4 hours before eating.

Lemon Pepper Chicken

Lemon Pepper Chicken the easy way!

All ready for the oven!
With all the yummy stuff!

What a cute lil guy!

Recipe:

1 roaster chicken, thawed and rinsed

zest of 1 lemon(about a tablespoon)

juice of 1 lemon( about 3 tablespoons)

1 garlic glove minced

2 teaspoons black pepper
1 teaspoon oregano

Preheath oven to 350

Prepare your cooking bag (following package directions)
Place your bird in bag and pour lemon juice on

top of bird. Place garlic around and inside the cavity of the

chicken. Then add teh rest of the seasonings and tie up your bag.

Place in oven and bake for about 2-2 1/2 hours

usually 20 minutes per pound. Or until juices run clear.

**if its a busy week prep it and stick it in the fridge until

the evening your having this yummy meal**

Reaching My Dream

Hi! I hope you all will love and enjoy what you will see here. I am a mom of two toddlers and love to cook!! Like I was born to cook! I'm always in the kitchen. I love writing,creating, and trying new recipes.

Some healthy, some not so much.

Most of what you will see here will "my originals". Iwill try to only use my own recipes on here.

But is going to be my place to share my ideas,recipes and dreams with you all.

I hope to someday write a cookbook and maybe even someday be a food network star!! :)