Marisas amazing burrito recipe...by Nat.

My buddy Marisa emailed me this recipe, I made it last night and though the kids didnt eat it. (Penelope is sick and E Bunny wont touch anything that could be spicy) IT WAS DELICIOUS!!!!


2 chicken breasts, boiled (I did 3, I like leftovers and boiled for 15-20 minutes)
1 can rotel (I used 1 1/2)
2 tbsp taco seasoning
1 can pinto beans, heated through
Cheese
Sour cream
Salsa
Tortillas


Heres the super easy instructions-


Shred chicken using 2 forks. Mix chicken, rotel, and taco seasoning in pot and heat through. Heat tortillas so they are soft and plyable. Pile on chicken mixture, beans, cheese, sour cream, and salsa. Fold up into burrito and eat.

Voila! Delicious.

Homemade Mac and Cheese

First of all...sorry I have been MIA! Life gets a little busy sometimes. We went to spend some time with my brother and his family for almost a week in there too.

Okay, as for the mac and cheese...it was SO yummy! T loved it and ate his whole plate. E, however, did not appreciate it as much. She was talking about watching the movie "Princess and the Frog" and I told her that she could watch it after dinner. She stuck her fork in the macaroni, pulled out a noodle, and took a bite. She started crying and carrying on. She kept gagging and hollering. I asked what the problem was, if she bit her tounge and she said "I no like it!" She swallowed that bite and pushed her plate away. UGH!

Here is the recipe:

2 cups uncooked multigrain macaroni

cooking spray

1 1/2 cups fat free milk

3 tbsp flour

3 ounces light processed cheese (such as Velveeta Light), cubed

1 cup reduced fat shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese, divided

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

Cook macaroni in boiling water 8 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Spray baking dish with cooking spray.

Preheat broiler.

While pasta cooks, combine milk and flour in a large saucepan, stirring with whisk until blended. Cook over medium-high heat 10 minutes or until thickened, stirring constantly. Remove pan from heat; add processed cheese, 3/4 cup cheddar cheese, salt, and pepper, stirring until cheese melts. Stir in macaroni.

Spoon macaroni into baking dish; sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup cheddar cheese. Place under broiler 3 minutes or until cheese melts.

I think the only thing I would do different next time is to either use all velveeta cheese and top with some cheddar or use mild cheddar instead of sharp cheddar. I may also throw in some broccoli or other veggies.

A Sea of Fish and Octopus

I found this fantastic lunch idea on another blog, http://mamasides.blogspot.com/ the owner of blog is on one of my mommy boards.

As soon as I saw it I knew I had to do it, it is TOO cute!

You will need

Kraft mac and cheese
Goldfish
and Hotdogs

3 things which can always be found in my home.

Cook everything as usual (the Macaroni that is)

but the hot dog gets the special treatment.

Step 1. Cut the hot dog in half but NOT all the way through.

Step 2. Cut the half you just cut in half...does that make sense? 

Step 3. If you want, cut that half into another half....this gets a bit difficult unless you have super thick hotdogs.

Step 4. Throw el Octopus into boiling water and cook him for 4 minutes.

Meanwhile prepare the Macaroni and cheese.

When all is ready  make the plate look Oceanful!

Seriously, how cute is that?

Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo

Being that I am in a energy rut, Ive been cooking simple and easy for the past week or so.

This is another Campbells Recipe that I tried and it was SO simple to make.

Ingredients-

1/2 of a 16 ounce package linguine

1 cup fresh or frozen broccoli florets

2 tablespoons butter

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves  (about 1 pound), cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup  (Regular, 98% Fat Free or Healthy Request®)

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions-

• Prepare the linguine according to the package directions in a 3-quart saucepan. Add the broccoli during the last 4 minutes of the cooking time. Drain the linguine mixture well in a colander.
• Heat the butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until well browned and cooked through, stirring often.
• Stir the soup, milk, cheese, black pepper and linguine mixture in the skillet and cook until the mixture is hot and bubbling, stirring occasionally.  Serve with additional Parmesan cheese.

We all really enjoyed this meal. Even Lil Princess Penlope gobbled up her plate!

I think my kids are a big fan of Campbells, and for that I am a big fan of the red and white label can.

Hiatus

So sometimes I like to fall off the wagon, That was this last 7 days. We did a lot of eating out and only tried a couple new recipes which I plan on posting tomorrow.

Sometimes business overwhelms a family. We had the rodeo, a birthday party, a baseball game, and a unexpected trip to labor and delivery.

Please keep coming back and looking for new recipes :)

Slow Cooker Red Bean, Sausage and Rice Soup

Slow Cooker Red Bean, Sausage and Rice Soup

1 medium garlic clove(s), minced

1 medium red onion(s), chopped

1 large celery, rib, chopped

1 medium green pepper(s), chopped

15 oz canned kidney beans, dark-variety, rinsed and drained

14 1/2 oz canned diced tomatoes, undrained

9 oz cooked chicken sausage, andouille-style, cut into bite-size pieces

1/4 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp black pepper

6 cup(s) fat-free chicken broth

1 cup(s) uncooked white rice, converted-variety recommended

Place garlic, onion, celery, bell pepper, beans, tomatoes with their juices and sausage in a 5-quart slow cooker. Add thyme and pepper; stir well.

Pour in broth and rice; stir again. Cover slow cooker and set on high power; cook for 4 hours. Yields about 1 1/2 cups per serving.

We recommend converted rice because regular long-grain rice can become mushy in slow cooker recipes.

This is a weight watchers recipe. I was so good! We substituted sweet italian turkey sausage since we couldn't find chicken sausage and it tasted great. Mom and dad loved it...what about the tough critics? The 3 year old took her one courtesy bite and devoured her toast that we has with it. The 1 1/2 year old liked it. He ate about half of his serving and most of his toast. We will make this again because it warms a person up on a cold day and overall it was a success.

Shepherds Pie

This is a really easy and fast recipie.

1 pound ground beef

1 can tomatoes with oregano, garlic, and basil

8 oz canned tomato sauce

1 1/2 cups mixed vegetables

2 cups prepared mashed potatoes

Turn broiler on to preheat. Brown ground beef in skillet. Mix in tomatoes, tomato sauce, and vegetables. Heat through. Spray 8 oz ramakins with no stick cooking spray. Divide mixture between 4 ramakins.

Top each with 1/2 cup mashed potatoes.

Place under broiler for 5 minutes or until potatoes are golden.

This was a success! The 1 1/2 year old ate all his serving of potatoes and then had a second helping of them. He also ate up about half his serving of the mixture. The 3 year old even ate about half of her servings. (This is HUGE for her!) Mom loved it too. Dad liked it but it was not his favorite. He doesn't do mashed potatoes very often anymore. We will definatly have this one again though!

Quesadilla night

So the chicken was still frozen when it was time to cook dinner a few nights ago so I had to think of something else. We had the fixings for quesadillas so we tried that. The kid's quesadillas just had cheese in them and mom and dad's quesadillas had canned chicken, black beans, and tomatoes with green chilies. It was a huge SUCCESS! The 3 year old ate her half and actually asked for more! What a shocker! She ended up eating another half. The 1 1/2 year old ate his whole half as well. Mom and dad even liked theirs. We also had chips and salsa with our meal. YAY for something the 3 year old will eat! :)

Campbells Chicken nooodle, possibilities.....

While searching for new recipes... a Campbells commercial with this catchy tune came on. I decided to check out their recipes. They had just what I love, "Quick and easy!"

I found this http://www.campbellkitchen.com/RecipeDetail.aspx?recipeId=25085&categoryId=1&ref=%2fRecipeCategory.aspx%3fcategoryid%3d1

and thought it looked delicious.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 boneless pork chops, 3/4-inch thick (about 1 pound)
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup  (Regular or 98% Fat Free)
3/4 cup milk
1 package (1 ounce) ranch salad dressing mix

• Heat the oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork and cook until well browned on both sides.
• Stir the soup, milk and 1/2 package salad dressing mix in the skillet and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until the pork is cooked through. Sprinkle with the paprika.

 

Mid cook. Yummy!

 
 

The rice a roni 

SO incredibly easy, and it was delicious too!

I really enjoyed this meal. The energizer Bunny didnt try a bite of anything, he aid he was full and didnt want to eat...I bet he wouldve enjoyed it though.

Princess Penelope LOVED the pork chops, she didnt however like the rice I made along with it. I chose a Rice a Roni Brocolli something.

So all In all, I thought it was yummy and I will be making this again. As easy as it was you cant pass it up!!

Ham and Cheese Bowtie.

I got this recipe from http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Ham--n--Cheese-Bow-Ties

It was SUPER easy to make. My kids are big fans of bowtie noodles with butter and parmesan cheese so i thought this one would be worth trying.

Ingredients

• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 cup butter, cubed
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 teaspoon prepared mustard
• 2-1/2 cups (10 ounces) shredded Colby cheese
• 2 cups uncooked bow tie pasta, cooked and drained
• 6 to 8 ounces fully cooked ham, julienned
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

• In a large saucepan, saute garlic in butter. Stir in flour, salt and pepper until blended. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly. Stir in the mustard and Colby cheese; cook and stir until cheese is melted. Add pasta and ham; stir until coated.
• Transfer to a greased 2-qt. baking dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until heated through. Yield: 4-6 servings.

I didnt think my kids would eat the Ham, because they like to turn their nose at different looking things in meals. Shockingly, they loved it! They both ate their whole plate full.

I however, did not like this, haha. The cheese tasted real funny to me, could be because of baby in utero but I had trouble finishing my plate.

and Sorry, no picture of this one. Theres a picture following the link up top though.

Happy Cooking!