Chicken and Rice Skillet

I love one-pan dishes.  They are easy and eliminate dirty dishes.  And I'm sure we all hate dirty dishes!  This Chicken and Rice Skillet is easy and can be made in about 30 minutes, so it's a pretty quick dinner.  Everything you need in one pan!

Chicken and Rice Skillet

2 chicken breasts, skin removed and diced into small cubes
1 box Uncle Bens Chicken & Wild Rice + the packet
2 Tbsp. butter
1 green onion, diced
2 Tbsps. soy sauce
4 baby carrots, finely sliced long ways
1/2 stalk celery, diced
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 can cream of chicken soup

In skillet sauté green onion, carrots and celery in the 2 Tbsp. butter and soy sauce.  Cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes and then add the chicken breast cubes.  Saute' for an additional 5 minutes and then add the chicken broth and the Uncle Bens Wild Rice with packet.  Simmer for about 20 minutes, uncovered, or until rice is cooked through.  Add cream of chicken and stir well.  Heat for an additional 5 minutes and serve.

Easy Breezy and so Yummy!

Hearty Chili

So, no it's not cold weather.  Yes, chili is usually a cold-weather food.  But, we are going to have a little chilly, rainy weather this week, so what a good time to make some homemade Chili.  Here in Indiana, we put pasta in our chili...just saying, so you non-Hoosiers don't judge us!

Hearty Chili

2 lbs. lean ground beef
1 small white onion, finely diced
1 small bell pepper, finely diced
1 tsp. salt + 1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. ground pepper
1 can kidney beans - drained
1 can chili beans
1 large can tomato juice
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 can petite tomatoes
15 to 20 strands of spaghetti, broken into bite-sized pieces (can use macaroni)
2 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. Italian Seasonings
1 Tbsp. hot sauce

Brown ground beef, onion, bell pepper, 1 tsp. salt and pepper in skillet until hamburger is browned.  Drain well.

In large stock pot, over medium heat, combine, tomato juice, Rotel tomatoes, petite tomatoes, chili and drained kidney beans, hot sauce, Italian Seasonings and Chili Powder.

Cook until comes to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and add ground beef mixture.  Stir well and simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  (do not boil).

Meanwhile, cook the broken spaghetti with 1/2 tsp. salt until slightly underdone.  Add to pot for the last 10 minutes of cooking.  Pasta will finish cooking in the chili and absorb the flavors.

We were always raised that you serve chili with a peanut-butter and honey sandwich! 

Pocket Sized Pot Pies

Pot Pies are great comfort food.  These easy Pocket Sized Pot Pies are simple to make and most of the ingredients you probably already have in your pantry.  You use a deep dish popover cupcake pan to make these so the are small enough for your kids to have a whole pie.

Pocket Sized Pot Pies

2 can Grand's biscuits - flaky type
2 cans of chicken meat with juices
1/4 small white onion, finely diced
2 Tbsp. butter
1 can mixed vegetables - drained
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 green onions, finely diced
1 small potato, peeled, cubed and boiled until about 1/2 done  (you can do this in the microwave in a deep bowl)
3 Tbsp. melted butter for tops

In a deep skillet, sauté white onions in 2 Tbsp. butter until translucent.  Add canned chicken, mixed vegetables (drained) and cream of chicken soup.  If mixture is too thick, add some water about a 1/4 cup or so.  Heat through for about 6 to 8 minutes.  Add pre-boiled potato and green onions.  Cook an additional 3 to 5 minutes and remove from heat.

Spray cupcake/popover pan with cooking spray.  Press 1 Grand's biscuit into the bottom and up the sides.  Ladle about 2 to 3 Tbsp. of mixture onto each biscuit until mixture is about 1/4" from the top.  Top with another biscuit, stretching it so that it goes across the top completely.  Spread melted butter on the tops of each biscuit.

Bake in 350 degree pre-heated oven for approximately 18 to 20 minutes or until tops of biscuits are brown and flaky.  This recipe makes quite a few of these, so you can cook them in batches if you only have one pan.

Pop out with a large spoon and serve. 

Taco Salad Bowl

Mexican food is one of my very favorites.  I love the flavor combinations and all the different varieties of things you can make.  Taco Salad in a Bowl is one of my favorites and is easy to make at home.  You're probably thinking making the bowl is hard, but I use a simple trick;  I buy Azteca Salad Bowls.  They come with pre-formed cardboard cut outs that simply snap together and then you place your tortilla's over the top.  Bake in the oven and they come out perfect.  I have even baked them quickly in the microwave if I'm in a hurry, although they don't get as crispy.

Taco Salad Bowl

1 lb. lean ground beef
4 Tbsp. salsa
1/2 packet taco seasoning
1/2 small diced onion
1 tsp. ground pepper
1 can refried beans
2 Tbsp. water
2 cups finely shredded lettuce
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 finely diced tomato
2 finely diced green onions
Sour Cream for garnish
More Salsa for garnish

Brown ground beef with diced onion.  When done, drain and put back in the skillet.  Add the taco seasoning, ground pepper and 4 Tbsp. salsa.  Stir to mix.

In a small saucepan, heat the refried beans with 2 Tbsp. water.  Stir constantly until heated through.  Remove from heat.

Bake the Azteca Taco Shells according to instructions on the box.  Invert onto a plate and fill:  Refried beans first then top with shredded lettuce, ground beef, some of the cheese and garnish with green onions, tomato, sour cream and more salsa.  You can also add avocado, olives, guacamole, or whatever other garnish you desire.

Serves 4 to 6.

Crispy Chicken Nuggets

Don't all kids (and most adults) love Chicken Nuggets?  These little nuggets have anything that you can get at a restaurant or at the supermarket beat!  They are tender and crispy and juicy.  Mmmmm Mmmmm Mmmmm!

I promise you, your kids/grandkids will love these and so will you.  The first time I made these, my granddaughter, Azalee, was only about 3 and she ate so many I thought she was going to pop. 

Crispy Chicken Nuggets

You will need 3 bowls to make these.

Bowl 1:  2 cups of flour, 1 Tbsp. pepper and 2 Tbsp. salt

Bowl 2:  1 can of cream of chicken soup + 5 Tbsp. milk (beat together)

Bowl 3:  2 cups Panko Japanese Breadcrumbs

Cut 2 thawed skinless chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces. 

Roll into the flour in Bowl 1, then dip into the Cream of chicken mixture in Bowl 2.  Will be wet and sticky.  Finally, roll the pieces in the Panko Breadcrumbs in Bowl 3. 
Drop pieces into hot oil (at least 3" deep in a Dutch oven).  Turn at least once and remove once they are brown and crispy on both sides.  Drain on paper towels. 

The Cream of Chicken mixture leaves the pieces juicy on the inside and the Panko makes them crunchy on the outside.  The perfect mixture.  You can also cut the chicken into strips if you prefer chicken strips.

Homemade Croutons

I like salads, but I hate getting a salad with croutons that are so hard they could break your teeth. I make homemade croutons whenever possible.  My grandson, Dylan could sit and eat these like chips.  He loves them.

Homemade Croutons

4 slices of your favorite bread, cut into cubes
4 Tbsp. real butter
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp. ground pepper
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. garlic powder
1tsp. Italian Seasonings

Mix seasonings in a small bowl.  Add butter and olive oil to a skillet over medium heat.  Toss some  of the bread in the seasonings and drop into the hot skillet.  Make sure skillet is hot.  Toss once to coat with butter/oil and fry until crispy.  Remove and drain on paper towels.  Repeat until all are done.  Don't over crowd skillet.

Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies

Easy cookies are the best.  If you love regular no bake cookies, try these peanut butter ones.  Yum yum!

Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies

1/2 cup milk
1 stick of butter
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup brown sugar

Mix all ingredients in a saucepan.  Cook over medium heat for 1 minute.  Remove from heat.

Add 2/3 cup Peanut butter.  Stir well.  Add 3 cups oats.  Stir well.  Can add nuts and raisins -optional.

Drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper.    Allow to cool completely.

Breakfast Hash Brown Casserole

Love Breakfast?  Me too.  I even like it for dinner.  This easy Breakfast dish can be made a variety of ways;  with meat, veggie style, or just cheese.  You can just about throw any meat or veggie in it and have a great breakfast or dinner.  Enjoy!

Breakfast Hash brown Casserole

4 medium potatoes-peeled and shredded  or 1 bag of frozen hash browns thawed
2 green onions - died
1/4 bell pepper - finely diced
3 baby carrots - finely diced
1/2 stick real butter + 2 Tbsp.
2 cups shredded mild cheddar cheese
5 large eggs beaten with 2 Tbsp. milk
Your choice of meat:  ground sausage, smoked sausage, bacon, etc.

*for a lighter version, use light butter and turkey sausage

Spray bottom of 9x9 baking dish with cooking spray.  Place hash browns in bottom of dish and press down slightly.  In a skillet, sauté 2 Tbsp. real butter, bell pepper, baby carrots and green onions for about 3 to 4 minutes.  Just enough to help them start softening.  Remove from skillet and drain on a paper towel.

In same skillet, sauté the meat of your choice:  I like breakfast sausage or bacon.  Drain on a paper towel and then crumble the meat up.  Pour the eggs/milk mixture over the veggies/hash brown making sure to get it all around the dish so that every spot has some egg on it.  The eggs will soak into the hash browns.

Top with 2 cups of shredded mild cheddar and bake at 350 degrees until cheese melts and starts to look like it is lightly brown; about 25 to 30 minutes.

Serve topped with sour cream or salsa for dinner. 

Layer the veggies on top of the hash browns and then add the meat. 

Easy Cheesy Taters

I often make very time intensive and elaborate cheesy potatoes, but when I just want something different and quick, I make these.  They are really good, cheesy and don't take much time.  I love making these in my cast-iron skillet because the cheese gets a little crusty around the edges and it is awesome!


Easy Cheesy Taters

4 medium to large red potatoes, do not peel
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. real butter
1 tsp. Seasoned Salt
1 tsp. Garlic Pepper
2 cups shredded mild cheddar cheese

Quarter and boil potatoes in salted water (1/2 tsp. salt) for about 5 minutes, just to get them started cooking.  Drain.  Mix seasoned salt and garlic pepper and sprinkle over potatoes.

In oven-proof skillet (I used a cast-iron skillet). Add butter and olive oil.  Place skillet into a 350 degree oven just long enough for the butter to melt.  Remove from oven and add the seasoned potatoes.  

Bake for about 20 minutes and then sprinkle with the cheese.  Place back in oven just long enough for the cheese to  melt and remove.  Serve.

Garnish with diced green onions and sour cream for some extra kick.

Easy Donut Holes Your Kids Will Love

 

 

Kids love Donut Holes!  Who wants the entire donut when you can have a little donut hole to just pop in your mouth.  Plus, they are small and easily fit kids hands..which results in less mess for mom!  Try these, you'll love em.

Easy Donut Holes

4 to 5 cups of Oil for frying (depending on width of pan)

Donut Mixture
2 cups Baking Mix (like Bisquick or Jiffy)
1 large egg
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 stick real butter, melted
3/4 to 1 cup of whole milk (enough to make dough sticky and thick)

Add about 2 to 3 inches of oil to a pan and bring to about 350 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with paper towels to drain the donuts.

Whisk together egg and milk.  In a separate bowl, mix Baking Mix, sugar and salt.  Add to the wet ingredients and stir well.  Stir in the melted butter, folding until a soft dough forms. 

Dip a spoon in water and then into the dough mixture.  (or can use an ice cream scoop).  Drop into the hot oil, turning once as they brown.  Takes about 2 or 3 minutes to brown on both sides.  Be careful not to over-crowd your pan.  Remove and drain on the paper towels.  Complete until all dough is used.

Mix Glaze and pour over top of donut holes while they are still hot.


Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
3 to 4 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Beat together.  If mixture is too thick, add a little more milk.