Slow Cooker Chicken Stroganoff

4-6 pieces of frozen chicken

16 ounces in weight of sour cream

2 packages of onion soup mix

2 cans of cream of mushroom soup (or 1 can cream of chicken, 1 can cream of mushroom)

your choice of noodles or rice

I salt and peppered the chicken, and also added 4 tablespoons of butter.

Put the chicken into the slow cooker. In a bowl mix together all other ingredients and then pour over chicken in the slow cooker. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. During the last hour cook your noodles or rice. I also took the chicken out on a place and shredded it with 2 forks and added it back. Then add drained noodles or fully cooked rice to the mixture. Cook for another 30 minutes to and hour.

I forgot to take a photo, but this dish was really yummy, and obviously very easy. The hubby and kids loved it so I will for sure make it again.

I'm really into my slow cooker lately! I love the ease of it and the food is really good. Enjoy!

I need help!!

Okay, so I am starting a newer healthier diet to help shed some of this back to school bulk I have put on while in nursing school. BUT after a 12 hour shift at the hospital I really want something fast which leads to not so healthy choices.
I am trying to pull out my healthier recipes but I don't want to get bored to quickly.
Any thoughts or suggestions?

Quick & Easy From Lexi

Prosciutto wrapped melon.

This is an Italian clasic it is sweet and savory all at the same time. Simple go tot he deli at the store and ask for a few pieces of thinnly sliced prosciutto (itallian salty aged lunch meat essentially only way better). Pick out a nice ripe melon. Dice and wrap small pieces of the prociutto around. Secure in place with a tooth pick or wrap and pop directly into mouth.


Italian grilled cheese

Foccia, farmers bread, regular bread or any day old bread at the store. Slice into pieces.
Add pesto (recipe in an earlier post of mine :-) to one side as a condoment.
Add slices of mozarella cheese.
(Optional) add a fresh slice of tomato or a few sun dried tomatoes.
Place under the broiler until the bread is crispy and the cheese is melty. If you have a really goo broiler then toast the bread first then add the topings and place back in for a few more seconds to melt the cheese without burning.
Eat warm and enjoy. To make a full meal add tomato soup, or a vegetable soup.


French Mac 'n' Cheese

2 pads butter
1-2 tbl flour
1/4 cup white wine (chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, or a dry pinot grigio)
1/4 cup reduced or sodium free chicken stock
1/4 cup cream
white cheddar cheese shredded
1/4 pkg of cream cheese
optional - dash of taragon
Pasta of your choice cooked per box instructions.

Make a traditional rue in the pan, add in the wine and chicken stock and reduce down to make a nice thick syrup (add taragon here if you are using it). Add cream and stir until it coats the back of the spoon , add cheese and stir in using figure 8 motion to prevent clumps. Add in pasta and stir to coat. Serve immediatly.


Fritata

1 runded loaf of bread (easter bread/wide loaf baggette/etc)
3 eggs
1 1/2 -2 cups cream
handfull finely chopped bell peppers
handfull cooked and diced breakfast sausage
frech diced tomatoes
diced asparagus
your choice of cheese (sharp cheddar shredded, mild cream cheese broken into clumps, etc)
S&P

Cut a hole out of top of bread and gut as if you were making a bread bowl for soup.
Combine all other ingred in a bowl and mix fully.
Pour egg, veggie and cheese mixture into bread bowl.
Place in 350 degree oven and bake for 25-30 min or until eggs are cooked through and firm (but not rubbery!)

Use bread inners for a side or toss in olive oil and your favorite spices, throw into the oven on a cookie sheet and make home made croutons for a salad!


Grilled PB&J

Make your standard PB&J sandwhich. Then either place in a toaster oven or grill in a pan like a grilled cheese sandwhich. The end result is a warm toasty sandwhich that is almost as good as desert! - The kids love this one!
- You can also do with peanut butter and banana sandwhiches for the kids!

Bakerella's Cake Pops

Bakerella is famous for her cake pops and cake balls and really just about any baked good. She has some yummy and cute ideas. My family and I have fallen in love with her cake pops and balls. I prefer the pops only cuz it is less messy.

Visit Bakerella here.

Last night I made strawberry cake pops, but I have made chocolate and red velvet. Red velvet is my absolute favorite cake flavor of all time. I liked it way before it became trendy. But I love that it is trendy, because now you can find red velvet cake mix by Duncan Hines in the grocery store. Also you can find cream cheese frosting in a can too! You can pretty much use any flavor of cake mix for these. Although, I don't think lemon, spice or carrot would be a good flavors with these...but I guess ya never know ;)

Here is the recipe:

Red Velvet Cake Balls
1 box red velvet cake mix (cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake)
1 can cream cheese frosting (16 oz.)
1 package chocolate bark (regular or white chocolate)
wax paper

To make them pops, you just insert paper sucker sticks after they have chilled. You can get those at any craft store, and sometimes the grocery store. Also the melting chocolate can be found at the craft store too. Usually in the same section as the sucker sticks. They have a rainbow of colors. I have only tried milk chocolate and white chocolate. But I think I'll make some for Easter and get some fun pastel colors :)

1. After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl.
2. Mix thoroughly with 1 can cream cheese frosting. (It may be easier to use fingers to mix together, but be warned it will get messy.) I have found that you do not need the entire can of frosting. And each cake is different. Really moist cakes need less frosting and the dryer ones need more.
3. Roll mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet. (Should make 45-50. You can get even more if you use a mini ice cream scooper, but I like to hand roll them.)
4. Chill for several hours. (You can speed this up by putting in the freezer.)
5. Melt chocolate in microwave per directions on package.
6. Roll balls in chocolate and lay on wax paper until firm. (Use a spoon to dip and roll in chocolate and then tap off extra.) If doing pops, then just insert the sucker stick and use that to dip and roll the cake balls in the chocolate. Also, you can stick them on wax paper to dry still, but if you want them to not have flat tops then you can stick them in a foam block thingy to cool and set.

Ranch Chicken- (perfect for the Lazy cook...)

In response to Carrie's request for meals for the LAZY  COOK, I submit the following...

First take out a large Ziploc bag.
Into it dump bread crumbs (about a cup or 2) and to them add a packet of Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing.
Take Chicken Breasts (or pieces, whatever you've got) and throw them into the bag to coat them.
Throw them on a cookie sheet or baking dish and bake until chicken is cooked through.
Add a Salad or Veggies or even Rice and call it good.
Quick. Easy. Tasty.

Help!

Maybe its the weather or something in the water, but I have been so unmotivated this week.  I need menu ideas for the SUPER LAZY cook.

Do you guys have those easy and fast but the family loves it recipes?  LETS HAVE 'EM!  Please?  Last night I was so lazy we ate a big dinner roll with colby jack cubes, strawberries, salad and a veggie platter.  On paper plates.  LOL

Tuesday Night Denver Dinner Post

Quiche Lorraine & Pear/Apple Crisp

Quiche Lorraine
1 fully cooked crust (home made or store bought I used Julia Child's recipe from mastering the art of french cooking)

In a bowl combine:
3 eggs
1 1/2-2 cups heavy cream or fat free half and half
S&P
dash nutmeg (it's the wow factor in the background trust me!)
Crumbled fully cooked bacon (I used the reduced fat turkey bacon)
1-2 handfuls shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Pour into fully baked crust and cook in 375 degree oven for 25-30min or until eggs are cooked through (but soft not rubbery) and the top is slightly golden brown. Serve warm ad enjoy!!
This is a french favorite and I love it. I just can't deny my french roots :-)


Pear/Apple Crisp
This recipe usually calls for a 1-2 cups sugar and 2-4 tbl of flour or starch and can be found in the joy of cooking under apple pie/crisp. Here is the version I cooked last night.

2 peeled and diced pears
1 peeled and dices apple
3-4 tbl sugar
1 tbl cinnamon (or as you like)
1 dash nutmeg
2-3 dash of arrowroot
Stir and let set while you prepare the pie crust.

Crisp topping:
equal parts flour, butter, brown or white sugar, and dry oats.
Dash of salt.
Combine with fingers lightly.

1 partially cooked pie crust cooled. All tossed fruit and all juices from bowl to crust. Sprinkle crisp topping over fruit and bake at 350 for 30min.

I am not a huge fan or overly sweet deserts so this really hit the spot for me. If you like the idea of a desert with less sugar but feel like you need a little something extra at serving time try serving it over vanilla frozen yogurt or your favorite vanilla, caramel or butterscotch ice cream.

Pioneer Woman's Chicken Spaghetti

Oh. My. This was so delicious!! My kids ate a lot of it and kept saying "Mmmm!" Well Mmmm is right! This was such an awesome dish. Easy and so yummy! It makes a lot too. So I'm excited for left overs for lunch this week. Here is the recipe: (Only I did 1 can cream of mushroom and 1 can of cream of chicken and just did boneless, skinless chicken breasts.)

Ingredients

• 2 cups Cooked Chicken
• 3 cups Dry Spaghetti, Broken Into Two Inch Pieces
• 2 cans Cream Of Mushroom Soup
• 2 cups Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• ¼ cups Finely Diced Green Pepper
• ¼ cups Finely Diced Onion
• 1 jar (4 Ounce) Diced Pimentos, Drained
• 2 cups Reserved Chicken Broth From Pot
• 1 teaspoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt
• ⅛ teaspoons (to 1/4 Teaspoon) Cayenne Pepper
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• 1 cup Additional Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Preparation Instructions

Cook 1 cut up fryer and pick out the meat to make two cups. Cook spaghetti in same chicken broth until al dente. Do not overcook. When spaghetti is cooked, combine with remaining ingredients except additional 1 cup sharp cheddar.

Place mixture in casserole pan and top with remaining sharp cheddar. Cover and freeze up to six months, cover and refrigerate up to two days, or bake immediately: 350 degrees for 45 minutes until bubbly. (If the cheese on top starts to get too cooked, cover with foil).

**Make sure you make it over to her site to look at her step by step photos. They really help!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/chicken_spaghet/

Enjoy!

Chicken and Rice Casserole Variation

Long live casseroles! I am a busy mother of 4 and absolutely love the fact that
A.) casseroles are quick and easy to throw together with minimal dishes dirtied,
B.) they can be  assembled early and cooked at your convenience and
C.) they feed a lot fairly inexpensively and are pretty tasty. 

Sorry these are not exact amounts, I typically just dump it all together, sometimes even using leftovers.

Prepare to make your normal chicken and rice casserole. 

For me, that would roughly include rice,  1 can cream of chicken soup, cut up chicken and cheese. 

To "spice it up" add to that the following:

1 CAN STOKES GREEN CHILI SAUCE

FROZEN CORN

1 CAN DRAINED BLACK BEANS

FRESH CILANTRO

SEASONING TO TASTE (I used a little garlic and onion powder)

In the past I have even topped with a bit of Salsa before baking, but my kids aren't big Salsa fans, so I left it out this time. Goes well with a green salad and corn chips. YUM.

Honey Balsamic Chicken and Pasta

YUM!

I took a recipe and then altered it to make it a pasta dish. Cuz I LOVE pasta. No I think I'm obsessed. ;) Plus I know my kids will eat it if it has pasta in it. I also love sweet and savory dishes. There is just nothing better in life!

So here is my recipe:

1 sweet onion chopped

3 cloves of garlic minced or pressed (I have that handy dandy Pampered Chef garlic press. LOVE IT)

Olive Oil

3 tsp brown sugar

3 heaping Tablespoons of honey

3 heaping Tablespoons of balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 pound penne pasta

1 pound chicken (I used tenderloins)

Options: mushrooms, flat leaf parsley chopped, and fresh grated parmesean...maybe lemon.

So I put some extra virgin olive oil in the bottom of my skillet. (I have an awesome big skillet with high sides that I cook just about everything in. So use your biggest skillet) Then I dropped the onion into and sauted over medium heat. After they sweat for 2 minutes or so I added the brown sugar to caramelize the onion. I boiled my pasta at this time too. After 5 minutes of caramilizing I added the garlic. While that caramelized some more I cut up my chicken in bite sized pieces and then added them to the onions and garlic. When the chicken was almost cooked through I added the honey and the balsamic vinegar. It was at this point that I wished I had some mushrooms to add to this. Because that would be so awesome and delicious! I didn't like mushroom as a kid, but now as an adult, I love them. So I reduced the balsamic and honey by about half so it was syrup like (About 6-7 minutes) on medium heat. I drained my penne pasta and added a bit of olive oil to the pasta while it sat for flavor and so the pasta wouldn't stick together too much. Second to last I added the heavy cream (I eyeballed it but it was about 1/2 cup). Then let it come to a boil and thicken a bit (3-4 minutes). Last I added the pasta and mixed well and turned the heat to low/simmer. I let it simmer covered for about 2 minutes. It was also at this point that I wish I had some parmesean cheese and fresh flat leaf parsley too. (I would have made it to the store for mushrooms, parsley and parmesean but there was a freakish blizzard today. And I live on a mountain...so it is 10 times worse!) Next time :)

It is DIVINE I tell you! It is also really fun to create your own recipes. Enjoy!

P.S. If you think this is too sweet, then forget the brown sugar when you make it. But balsamic vinegar is naturally pretty sweet. Just FYI. Also I think next time I'll add something to help cut the sweetness a little. Maybe a little lemon?

Oh, my fantastic tips!

Crayola has tips on how to clean all of their products off of different surfaces!  Woot!

http://www.crayola.com/canwehelp/staintips/index.cfm

Denver Dinner Post

Oop's I fell behind on dinner postings and didn't take any pictures. Luckily these are already on the site. Hope you are all doing well. - Lexi

Sunday Dinner:
Chili made with turkey burger
Shredded cheddar cheese
Frito's scoops
Cup of Gatorade

Monday Dinner:
Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas
made with sharp cheddar and spicy jack cheeses
Cup of milk