Recipes

I have been on a roll with trying great new recipes around here lately! Sometimes I feel like it's hard to impress Scotty with meals. It's not that he's a picky eater or anything, he's just a "steak and potatoes are all I need" type of guy. Well, I get sick of those two things FAST and love having a variety of dinners up my sleeve. These recipes have been a hit for all of us around here! If you want more recipes that I have tried click here. I love getting already-tested recipes from people so here you go...

1. Creamy Garlic Pasta

...this one Scott is ALWAYS requesting, which is really saying something b/c his least favorite type of food is Italian. I usually get that disappointed lip curl whenever I tell him dinner is some type of pasta, but not this one!!

2 tsp Olive Oil

4 Cloves Garlic, minced

2 TBSP butter

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

3 cups chicken broth

1/2 lb spaghetti or angel hair pasta (we use angel hair)

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

2 TBSP chopped fresh parsley

-We also add grilled chicken and sauteed mushrooms.

In a pot, bring the olive oil to medium-low heat. Add the garlic and stir, allowing it to cook for 1-2 min. Mix in butter until melted. Add the salt, pepper, and chicken stock. Raise the heat to high and let it come to a boil. Once it's at a rolling boil, add pasta and cook as long as the box's directions indicate. Reduce the stove to medium heat and mix in Parmesan until completely melted. Turn off heat and stir in cream and parsley. 

*original recipe retrieved from Pinterest 

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2. Black Bean and Corn Wraps

My cousin gave me this recipe when we got married and I can't believe I haven't tried it till now! This is really good and EASY! I usually only use half of the mixture and save the rest for another night so that I get two meals (and some lunches) out of it. 

10 tortillas (or more if you don't STUFF your tortillas - you can make this mixture go a long way)

1 can corn

1 can diced green chilies 

1 can black beans

2 chicken breasts

1 cup salsa

1/2 pkg Taco seasoning

1 1/2 cup shredded cheese

sour cream and/or guacamole

Cook chicken in boiling water or grill and shred. Mix chicken with taco seasoning and 1-2 TBSP water to coat. Drain and rinse black beans and mix with corn, chilies, chicken, and salsa. Spoon into tortillas and top with cheese. Roll up and wrap in foil and place in a 9 x 13 inch pan. Bake @ 350 for 20-30 min or place on grill until cheese is melted. Serve with sour cream and guacamole. 

*Can use more or less of mixture depending on how many you need. Also can be used for taco salad or on top of nachos. 

3. Chicken Stroganoff

Both Scotty and I had something against the thought of "stroganoff." But I came across this recipe in my Mom's cookbook and thought all the ingredients sounded good so I gave it a try! I'll admit, I liked it more than Scotty, but he still said he wouldn't mind having it again ;). 

2 TBSP butter or margarine

1 Lb skinless, boneless chicken breasts

2 cups sliced mushrooms (6 oz)

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup sour cream

4 cups egg noodles

parsley

paprika

In a skillet, use 1 TBSP hot margarine or butter, cook sliced chicken until browned. Remove, set aside. Reduce heat to medium. In same skillet, use remaining 1 TSBP butter/marg. to cook mushrooms and onions until they are tender and liquids are evaporated, stirring often. Stir in soup & sour cream. Heat to boilings. Return chicken to skillet. Heat through stirring occasionally. Serve over noodles. Sprinkle with Parsley and Paprika.

4. Sloppy Joes

(I usually cut this in half unless I'm feeding more people than just us)

2 lb Ground Beef
1 Onion chopped
1 Green Pepper
Salt and Pepper (to taste)

Fry all together and then add:

1/2 Can tomato soup
1 TBSP mustard
4 TBSP Brown Sugar
4 TBSP Ketchup
1 tsp chili powder
1 TBSP vinegar
1TBSP Worshershire sauce
Dashes of garlic powder

Simmer for 30 (ish) minutes

*We have also used ground turkey meat and it's still good if you feel like being a little more healthy.
*Original recipe retrieved from Taste of Homes cookbook

5. Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

These have become a very regular meal at our house! I get two meals out of this, so I just make the whole mixture, but only cook half of them in the shells, refrigerate the rest of the mixture till the next meal - usually a couple days later. I like to do it this way so that it seems more fresh and less like leftovers, but you could just cook it up all at once and reheat if you aren't as big of leftover snobs as us.

3oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup green salsa
1 TBSP fresh lime juice (juice from half)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 TSBP chopped cilantro
2 TSBP sliced green onions
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 cup mexican flavored cheese
small flour or corn tortillas (we use about 12 flour altogether)
salt
cooking spray

-In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese, salsa, lime juice, ground cumin, chili powder, onion powder, and garlic. Once combined, stir in the cilantro and green onions. Add the chicken and cheese, mix thoroughly.
-Spoon 2-3 TSBP of chicken mixture onto lower-third of tortilla. Roll as tightly as you can. Place on baking sheet, seam down, and make sure they're not touching. Spray tops lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt. Bake 15-20 min or until crisp and golden.

*original recipe retrieved from Pinterest
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I have also been on a smoothie kick lately and have one almost every day. Brooklyn loves them too! I pour it into her own straw sippy cup and she gets so excited,  walks around with it taking sips and constantly going "mmm." It's so cute and I love feeling sneaky. I put in mine:
Orange juice or 1% milk
Plain nonfat greek yogurt
Frozen strawberries
Frozen blueberries
1/2 banana
Flax seed
Spinach

Happy Cooking!