Southwest Tortilla Bake

"Don't mind that this looks like mush," I said as we sat down to the table for dinner tonight.  Yep, tonight's meal didn't make the best of presentation, and frankly, I should have snapped a photo before I cut into this puppy, but alas, I did the best I could.

Ok, I digress.  Yes, tonight's dinner looks like a mess on the plate, but the flavor was awesome.  I love Mexican food, as I believe I have mentioned previously.  And while I don't make it all that often, when I do, I do.  This recipe was so easy to make - really, it only has six ingredients, most of which you can purchase from the store and use as-is.  Food Network's Sandra Lee has coined this a "semi-homemade" dish.  And you know what, they are good and sometimes better than making something 100% from scratch.

This one is ooey and gooey and cheesey and delicious.  A deep pie pan is totally recommended - I used my not-so-new-but-first-time-being-used Pampered Chef deep dish pie pan I got for my - gulp - wedding shower.  It was perfect.  And don't be alarmed about how full the pin pan is - mine was to the rim and didn't make a mess of the oven.

My only suggestion - which I will do on the next go-around of this recipe - is to really let this sit for a solid 5-7 minutes before you attempt to cut and serve.  I think this would have helped it stay togheter and not look like mush on the plate.

Yet again, another Mexican fiesta on a plate!

Southwest Tortilla Bake

Southwest Tortilla Bake

What You Need:

• 1 can Progresso Recipe Starters Creamy Roasted Garlic with Chicken Stock cooking sauce
• 1/2 c salsa
• 2 c cooked and shredded chicken
• 1 can Mexicorn, drained
• 3-4 tortillas
• 2 c shredded taco cheese

How You Do It:

1. Combine cooking sauce and salsa in bowl.
2. Combine corn and chicken in separate bowl.
3. Spread 1 cup sauce on bottom of pie pan.  Top with 1 tortilla, 1 cup sauce, 1/3 chicken mixture, and 1/3 cheese.  
4. Repeat tortilla-sauce-chicken-cheese layers until the pie pan is full, ending with cheese.
5. Bake 350* for 30 minutes until the center is warm and the cheese is lightly browned.
6. Let sit for 5-7 minutes to set before serving.

Southwest Tortilla Bake recipe adapted from Pillsbury.com.

Creamy Chicken Ramen with Spinach and Mushrooms

Tonight's dinner brought me back to the days of Freshman Year in Territorial Hall when the best - and only - heat source for cooking in your room was the microwave sitting atop your mini-fridge.  And there really were only a couple things one would make, or frankly could afford:  Easy Mac and Ramen Noodles.   So when I saw this recipe for a different take on Ramen noodles, I was totally interested.  I mean really - when is the last time you had Ramen noodles?

But this was more than just your freshman-dorm-room ramen.  This is what I'll call "adult ramen" - loaded with veggies and chicken, combined in a creamy sauce.  The flavors are far more than the salty packet of seasoning packaged with the noodles.  It's creamy and light and really complements the veggies and noodles well.

While it's been quite some time since the days of dorm-room-ramen and the "Adventures of Liz and Molly" (who would have thought a two-story Target would have a cart escalator?!), this ramen dish was a nice remake of a college staple.

Creamy Chicken Ramen with Spinach and Mushrooms

Creamy Chicken Ramen
with Spinach and Mushrooms

What You Need:

• 3/4 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, sliced thin
• 1 package sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 c water
• 4 oz light cream cheese (1/2 package)
• 1 3-oz package chicken-flavored Ramen noodles
• 2 handfuls fresh spinach
• 1/4 bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 5 grinds fresh black pepper

How You Do It:

1. In a large skillet, cook chicken until lightly browned and cooked through.  Remove from pan and set aside.
2. Add mushrooms, onion, and bell pepper and cook until onions are translucent.
3. Add water, seasoning packet, and cream cheese.  Bring to a boil, stirring until the cheese has melted and the texture is smooth.
4. While the sauce cooks, boil water, break noodles in half, and cook until done.  Drain.
5. Add cooked noodles, chicken, and spinach to sauce.  Add pepper and stir to combine.

Creamy Chicken Ramen with Spinach and Mushrooms recipe adapted from Costco Connection.

Corey's Honey Garlic Meatballs

Well, it's been a while friends!  After a quick jaunt to Florida for a business conference (including soaking up the sun and hanging in the pool with my childhood BFF and her parents) and a week-long vacation back to Wisconsin to visit my family for Passover and a couple days away with the hubs in Baltimore, we're back at home, which means I'm back in the kitchen!

Not only are we back, but top on the cooking docket is my husband's favorite meal:  Honey Garlic Meatballs.  I'm not sure if it's the honey or the garlic or the meatball he likes best... but he sure does love these.  It's one of the few meals I make every-so-often. 

The sauce is sweet and tangy, combining garlic, honey, ketchup, and soy sauce.  Combine that with a basic meatball recipe (I suppose you could use store-bought, but to me, that's just cheating), and you have the perfect combo. 

Trust the hubs... they might become your favorite too!

Corey's Honey Garlic Meatballs

Corey's Honey Garlic Meatballs

What You Need:

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1/2 c seasoned breadcrumbs
• 6 tbps milk
• 1 1/2 tbsp minced dried onion
• 1 egg (I used egg whites)
• 1 tbsp butter
• 3 cloves garlic, pressed
• 3/4 c ketchup
• 1/2 c honey
• 1/4 c soy sauce

How You Do It:

1. Combine turkey, breadcrumbs, milk, onion, and egg.  Shape into 1-inch meatballs.  Place in a single layer on a jelly roll pan and bake  at 425* for 12-15 minutes.
2. While the meatballs cook, melt butter in a deep pan.  Add minced garlic and saute until tender.
3. Add ketchup, honey, and soy sauce.  Bring to a boil, then simmer until meatballs are cooked through.
4. Add meatballs to sauce and gently stir to combine.

Recipe adapted from my mom.

Jack Daniels Glaze

Last week I had an impromptu lunch with a good friend of ours who loves TGIFridays’ Sesame Jack™ Chicken Strips appetizer.  Have you tried them!? What’s not to love – deep fried, crispy chicken tenders covered in a sweet Jack Daniels glazed sauce.  He mentioned to me how he had recently picked up a bottle of sauce similar to that at Fridays, which is when I remembered coming across a recipe on Pinterest!  Since we had no plans for the weekend, we invited him over to see just how accurate this recipe was.

Jackpot!

This sauce, sweet and sticky, with just a hint of Jack, was perfect on some baked-not-fried chicken tenders.  And what’s best – even my 8-year-old-picky-neighbor liked both the chicken AND the sauce!

Good on chicken tenders, we have all decided this sauce would be amazing atop anything on the grill… or just with a spoon.  A definite keeper.

Jack Daniels Glaze

Jack Daniels Glazed Chicken Tenders

What You Need:

• 1 head of garlic, roasted (instructions below)
• 2/3 c water
• 1 c pineapple juice
• 1/4 c soy sauce
• 1 1/3 c brown sugar
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• ½ tbsp dried onion
• 1 tbsp Jack Daniels Whiskey 
• 1 tbsp crushed pineapple
• 1/2 tsp minced ginger
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes

How You Do It:

1. To roast the garlic, cut the top off of a head of garlic so the ends of the cloves are exposed. Peel off any excess layers of the papery skin. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and loosely wrap with aluminum foil. Place on a baking sheet and roast at 350 degrees for about 45-50 minutes, or until the cloves appear golden brown.
2. In a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat, combine water, pineapple juice, soy sauce, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer.
3. Squeeze out the roasted garlic and whisk in to the simmering liquid, discard the papery skin. Add the lemon juice, onion, whiskey, pineapple, ginger, and red pepper flakes, and stir to combine.
4. Continue to simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally, or until the liquid has reduced by half and is thick and syrupy.
5. Thicken, if desired, by making a slurry and adding to sauce.

Jack Daniels Glaze recipe adapted from SunnySideUp.com.

Raw Veggie Pizza

While the husband was off gallivanting with a couple of his basketball players at a Women and Sports seminar, I hopped in the kitchen to whip together an appetizer to bring with us to dinner tonight.

If you know me at all, you know deciding on what to bring to someone's house is almost as agonizing as deciding what to serve guests (and even my husband, for that matter) for dinner. So for the past two weeks I've been thinking about this, combing Pinterest, sorting through my piles, yes piles, of recipes, and of course consulting my mom. Finally yesterday it hit me - my girlfriend from the ol' days at Polaroid used to make the most delicious cold veggie pizza. Biscuit crust, cream cheese + sour cream + ranch, veggies - done and done.

I consulted the master and this afternoon got to work...

Raw Veggie Pizza

Raw Veggie Pizza

What You Need:

• 2 cans Pillsbury Seamless Crescent Sheets
• 1 package cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 c sour cream
• 1/2 packet Hidden Valley Ranch Dip Mix
• Raw veggies (I used shredded carrots, cucumbers, grape tomatoes, & broccoli)

How You Do It:

1. Unroll both crescent sheets onto 10x15x1 baking tray, blending the seams in the middle and pushing the dough up the edges to form a crust.
2. Bake at 375* for 17 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool at least 30 minutes.
3. Once the crust is cool, using a stand mixer, coming cream cheese, sour cream, and ranch mix. Spread evenly over crust.
4. Top with veggies. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Raw Veggie Pizza recipe adapted from Pillsbury.com & TGalv.

Slow Cooker Teriyaki Pineapple Beef

I have always been a fan of the slow cooker, I think that's probably becoming apparent by now. I mean really, taking ingredients, dumping them into a pot, and setting the timer - what could be worse?! The slow cooker does all the work!

And this doozie was a mere three ingredients: beef, teriyaki, & pineapple chunks. Similar to the chicken I made last week, all you do is dump the sauce over the meat and let it rip. An hour or so before you want to eat, dump in the pineapple and away you go!

I did, however, find the sauce to be a little runny, so while I boiled the noodles, I removed the lid from the slow cooker, added in a slurry (cornstarch + water), and turned the heat to high until the noodles were done cooking (leave it uncovered). Perfect.

Slow Cooker Teriyaki Pineapple Beef

Slow Cooker Teriyaki Pineapple Beef

What You Need:

• 2 lbs stew meat
• 1 bottle teriyaki sauce
• 1 can pineapple chunks, drained

How You Do It:

1. Combine the beef and teriyaki sauce in slow cooker.
2. Cook on low 7-8 hours.
3. During the last hour, add drained pineapple.

Slow Cooker Teriyaki Pineapple Beef recipe adapted from Eat At Home.

Tomato, Zucchini, & Tortellini Soup

Back in my Minneapolis days, I had a little bout with tomato soup.  My girlfriend/colleague and I fancied a little Italian restaurant over our lunch hour every so often and they served up the best tomato basil soup.  Thus, I found a recipe and made my own.  Without getting into the gory details, it didn't sit well.  So since then, I've had a slight aversion to tomato soup.

A diversion, that is, until not too long ago when I made a Hungry Girl chicken recipe that used a can of tomato soup for the sauce.  It took me back - back to that little place with the soup, back to my parents' house when my sister and I would insist on the "tomato soup bowls" when we had a cup with a grilled cheese, back to when the idea of tomato soup didn't turn my stomach.

However, I think I've had about enough of the condensed soups.  Enter: Amy's Organic Chunky Tomato Bisque.  There's something about this stuff that really hits the spot.  So this afternoon, while home enjoying Presidents Day off, I whipped together a little something with Amy's Tomato Bisque.  Hearty and delicious, this soup was perfect for my afternoon of Dreamgirls and sweatpants.

Tomato, Zucchini, & Tortellini Soup

Tomato, Zucchini, & Tortellini Soup

What You Need:

• 2 cans Amy's Organic Chunky Tomato Bisque
• 2 small zucchini
• 1 package refrigerated tortellini

How You Do It:

1. In a large pot, cook tortellini as directed, adding the diced zucchini to the water when adding the pasta.
2. In a separate pot, slowly heat soup (do not add liquid).
3. Once cooked, drain pasta/zucchini and add to warmed soup.