Baked Chicken Parmesan

My husband and I are TRYING to eat healthier, but, sigh....... sometimes that's not so much fun.  Last week we had salads for dinner for four nights.  That got old pretty quick.  I was excited to find this recipe because I really love chicken parmesan.  It was SO good.  I was sad that there wasn't any left overs.


Baked Chicken Parmesan
Recipe from SkinnyTaste

Ingredients:

4 (8 oz) chicken breast halves, sliced in half
3/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp butter, melted
3/4 cup reduced fat mozzarella cheese
1 cup marinara
cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450°.  Spray a large baking sheet lightly with spray.

Combine breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese in a bowl.  Melt the butter in another bowl. Lightly brush the butter onto the chicken, then dip into breadcrumb mixture.  Place on baking sheet and repeat with the remaining chicken.

Lightly spray a little more cooking oil on top and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.  Turn chicken over, bake another 5 minutes.  Remove from oven, spoon sauce over chicken and top with shredded cheese.  Bake 5 more minutes or until cheese is melted.

Steak Kabobs, Tucano's Grilled Pineapple and Boston Cream Pie

Since the weather has been nice I decided it would be fun to grill for our Easter dinner.  Of course the boys were thrilled, because steak is their favorite.  Even my daughter ate it, and she doesn't really care for meat.  The pineapple was DELICIOUS!!  Next time, I'm doubling the pineapple and eating that first so I'm not full of other stuff!!!  The cake was delicious too, and so easy!!  You've got to love a meal that tastes fantastic but still allows you to have a 2 hour nap, even though we didn't get home from church until 3!!!


Beef Marinade for Kabobs

½ cup apple juice
¾ cup sugar
½ cup soy sauce
½ cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp. ginger
½ onion, chopped

Marinate meat as long as desired (but at least an hour). While these are marinating, soak skewers in water for at least a half an hour. Cut steak in strips and put on a skewer with veggies, then grill on the BBQ.


Tucano's Grilled Pineapple
Recipe from Kiera's Recipes

Ingredients:

One half pineapple, cut into long spears
(I just used the pre cut pineapple and put it on a skewer)
1 tbsp. butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon, in all
lemon juice

Fire up the grill to medium heat. Before putting the pinapple down, sprinkle the spears with half of the cinnamon and a little bit of brown sugar. This will facilitate a sweetness and instant carmelization when they hit the grill.

In a small saucepan, heat the butter, brown sugar and the rest of the cinnamon. Heat until bubbly and the sugar is properly melted.

Grill the pineapple spears over direct heat about 2-3 minutes per side, turning occaisionally. Each time it turns, baste with a brush of glaze. When finished, plate up and drizzle a final amount of glaze on top.

Easy Boston Cream Pie

1 yellow cake mix
1 small pkg. vanilla pudding
1 carton of Cool Whip
1 can of chocolate frosting


Make cake mix according to diretions in two round cake pans.   Let cool completely.   Make pudding mix according to directions but with only 1 cup of milk.  Let set.  Once set, add half of the carton of Cool Whip and mix together thoroughly.  Put one of the cake rounds on a plate.  Top with the pudding mixture.  Put the other cake round on top of the pudding mixture.  Frost with chocolate frosting as desired.  Keep refrigerated.

Overnight French Toast Casserole

I have tried making these 'overnight' type of things quite a few times, and have never really liked them.  They are usually too mushy for my taste.  This one turned out perfect and I'm wondering if it's because it's using the thick texas toast?  Anyhoo, it's easy and delicious!!!  It worked out perfectly to put it in the oven first thing in the morning and let it bake while the kids were hunting Easter eggs!



Overnight French Toast Casserole
Recipe from Mommy's Kitchen

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, melted (1 stick)
12 slices Texas toast or any leftover bread
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
5 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk

Directions:

Melt butter and pour in a 9x 13 pan. Mix together brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and nuts if you are using them. Whisk eggs, milk & vanilla together. Layer bottom of pan with half the bread pieces Sprinkle half the brown sugar mix over the bread. Layer the second half of bread. Pour egg mixture over the bread slices, making sure all are covered evenly. Sprinkle remaining brown sugar on top. Cover and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, remove from the refrigerator and cover with a new piece of foil. Preheat oven to 350 and bake the casserole for 30 minutes. Then uncover and bake for 20 more minutes. French toast should be browned and set. You can also remove it from the oven and pour some maple syrup on top and place back in the oven to caramelize for about 5-7 minutes.

Machaca Burritos

We have yet to find a great Mexican food restaurant near where we live.  It's been nearly two years, and to say we are in withdrawl is no exaggeration.  Luckily, I have some recipes that help us hold out until the next Arizona trip and was able to pull some fantastic tortillas out of the freezer from my last Arizona trip in January!!


Machaca Burro
I have no idea where I got this recipe, I've had it about 15 years


Ingredients:

3 lb. chuck roast
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup bacon drippings or vegetable oil
1 cup beef stock
1 medium onion, chopped (Obviously, I only used about 1/16 onion, finely minced into practically a paste)
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 small tomatoes, chopped (I only used 1 tomato so my kids wouldn't freak out)
1/2 cup chopped green chiles
1 tbsp. lime juice


Directions:

Rub the roast with salt and pepper.  Warm 2 tbsp. oil, brown meat on all sides.  Reduce heat to low.  Pour stock over the meat and add half the onion and garlic to the pan.  Cover and simmer until tender, about 1 1/2 hours.  Remove the meat, reserving liquid.  Shred the meat.
Warm remaining oil and saute remaining onion and garlic until soft.  Add the meat, stirring for about 10 minutes.  Stir in the reserved liquid, tomatoes, green chiles and lime juice.  Cook over low heat for 25 minutes.
I made some black beans and added them to my burrito, along with cheese and fresh salsa.

Chicken, Bacon and Veggie Pizza

I thought for sure my children would hate this pizza, so I made one for my husband and I, and one regular cheese pizza for the kids.  Well, they loved it!  Next time I will make two of them!  The no fail pizza crust recipe is a keeper, very easy.  It makes a thick dough if that is the kind you like, if not, then use your favorite pizza dough recipe.  Oh, and see that red pepper on the bottom of the picture, on the edge of the crust?  That would be my dividing line - on the right of that is the onion free zone, on the left is Onion City.  I was VERY careful when putting the onions on, I didn't get them even CLOSE to the dividing line!!  This pizza was delicious!!!  When I grilled the chicken, I also put barbecue sauce on it.  Yum.



Chicken, Bacon and Veggie Pizza
Recipe from Mommy's Kitchen

Ingredients:

1 recipe no fail pizza crust or use your own favorite pizza dough recipe
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 1/2 cups cheddar or Colby jack cheese, shredded
1/2 red pepper, cored, seeded & cut into strips
1/2 medium red onion, sliced vertically
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, grilled & diced
6 slices bacon, cooked & crumbled
Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare the pizza crust and roll out to fit into one 14 inch pizza pan or stone. Drizzle two tablespoon olive oil and the garlic onto the pizza crust, followed by half of each of the cheeses. Scatter half of the bell pepper, sliced onion, chicken, and bacon.

Add the remaining chicken, bacon, veggies and the rest of the cheeses. Finish it off by drizzling the last tablespoon of olive oil all over the top. Bake the pizza at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until the crust is lightly browned. Remove from the oven, let cool and slice.


No Fail Pizza Crust
Recipe from Mommy's Kitchen

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 cup warm water
1 tbsp. baking powder
4 tbsp. butter, softened
1 - 1/4 oz packet yeast (I used rapid rise)

Dissolve the yeast in warm water and set aside. Mix the flour, salt and baking powder together. Add the softened butter and cut into the flour mixture using a pastry blender or fork. Add the yeast mixture and stir together to combine. Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until well blended. Place the pizza dough into a oiled bowl and turn the dough to coat. Let rest for about 20 minutes. Cover the bowl with dish towel or plastic wrap while the dough rests. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Spray your pizza pan with non stick baking spray or brush with olive oil. You can also use a pizza stone. Press the pizza dough into the pan. Pre bake the pizza crust for about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and spread with pizza sauce and add all your favorite toppings. Place the pizza in the oven and bake until the crust is golden browned and the cheese is melted about 10-15 minutes.

Nacho Pie and Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars

I should have made two of these because it was inhaled in 2 point 3 seconds.  It has already been requested as a birthday dinner, high praise in our home!!


Nacho Pie
Recipe from Mommy's Kitchen

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef, browned
1/2 cup chopped onion (of course I skipped this!)
1  8 oz. can tomato cauce
¾ cup water
1  packet taco seasoning mix
1  tube crescent roll dough
1 1/2 cup crushed tortillas chips
1/2 cup sour cream (I didn't add this)
1  cup cheddar jack or plain cheddar cheese
additional sour cream for garnish, diced tomatoes and sliced black olives.
Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.  In large skillet brown beef and onion over medium heat until done. Drain off any grease. Stir in tomato sauce, water and taco seasoning. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 - 10 minutes. Separate crescent rolls into 8 triangles. Place in greased 9 inch pie plate points facing towards the middle. You might have to maneuver the triangles a bit at the end and turn some of them side ways, that's OK as long as the pie plate is covered completely. Press onto bottom and up sides of plate to form crust. Seal perforations. Sprinkle 1 cup crushed chips over crust. Top with meat mixture. Using a spatula spread sour cream over meat. (I skipped this step because I don't like sour cream).   Sprinkle the cheese and then remaining 1/2 cup crushed chips. Bake 30 - 40 minutes or until cheese melts, pie is bubbly and crust is golden brown. Cool 10 minutes before cutting. Add a dollop of sour cream, diced tomatoes and black olives for garnish. If the crust starts to brown to quickly cover the pie plate with foil from the bottom and up around the sides to cover crust.

Serve with a salad and your meal is complete.




 Our dessert for FHE was super easy.  We got a bunch of these for Christmas as neighbor gifts:

When I found this recipe I realized it was the perfect way to use up these cookie pouches!

Please forgive my horrible picture, just trust me when I tell you, if you like cheesecake you will LOVE these bars!!!


Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars
Recipe from Mommy's Kitchen

Ingredients:

1 (30 oz.) pkg. of chocolate chip cookie dough (I used two cookie pouches)
1 (8 oz.) packages of regular cream cheese, room temperature
1 egg
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut chocolate chip cookie dough in half. (Or in my case, prepare cookie dough as directed).   Cover the bottom of an ungreased 13x9 inch baking pan or casserole dish with half of the dough, forming a crust. Use your hands for this as if you were filling a pie plate with a homemade pie crust. Bake for 10 minutes.

While baking, beat the cream cheese, egg (or egg substitute), sugar (or no calorie sugar sweetener), and vanilla in a bowl until well blended. Take the crust out and spread the cream cheese mixture on the top being sure to cover the entire top. It will be ooey and gooey and may blend with the crust and this is OK.
Take the other half of the cookie dough and crumble it on top of the cream cheese coating, being sure to cover it all.Bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in the refrigerator for a few hours before serving. Store in the fridge, due to the cream cheese

Note: You can also use other cookie dough flavors instead of chocolate chip. Peanut butter, M & M, etc...

No Peek Beef Tips

This was a super easy dinner that the kids all loved.  I served it with mashed potatoes although I was told that next time they would like it with noodles.  I loved sticking it in the oven after church, taking my required Sunday Afternoon Nap and waking up to delicious smells and our meal finished.


No Peek Beef Tips
Recipe from Mommy's Kitchen


Ingredients:

2 lb. - Beef tenderloin tips, Stew Meat, Chuck Roast or Chuck Eye (Cubed)
1 - 10.5 oz can cream of mushroom soup
1 – packet brown gravy mix
1 - packet lipton dry onion soup mix
1 – small can mushrooms
1 - cup water or ginger ale

Directions:

Add cubed meat to a 9 x 13 inch pan. In a big bowl mix the remaining ingredients together and pour over the meat add mushrooms and stir to coat. Cover with foil and bake at 300 degrees for 3 Hours do not remove foil until done. Serve over rice, mashed potatoes or noodles.