Easy Cheesy Chicken Muffins

These are so yummy and even great eaten cold!

Ingredients:

• 1 can Pillsbury dough (I used the kind that you have to cut- you can use Crescent Rolls or Puff Pastry as well)
• 1-2 cups Shredded Chicken (I used an already cooked rotisserie chicken)
• 3/4 cup Cream Cheese
• 1 tablespoon Dried or Fresh Chopped Onion (optional)
• 1/2 Finely Diced Red Pepper
• 2 Tablespoons Milk
• 1/4 tsp Dried Thyme
• Salt & Pepper to Taste
• 1 Tablespoon Parmesan Cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl.
3. Cut dough into squares and place in muffin tin that has been covered with cooking spray.
4. Put a large spoonful of mixture inside and seal by twisting the top shut.
5. Spray or brush with butter sprinkle parmesan cheese and thyme on top.
6. Bake for 20 minutes.

Dinner Adventures in Nigeria

When we first moved to Nigeria we did not have a cook so here is a sampling of what cooking was like then:

No electricity?  No running water?  And I have to cook dinner?  No problem…

I have been struggling with cooking anything but eggs since we arrived.  The oven and stove are gas, the knives are dull and the tools are NOT the Pampered Chef variety I am accustomed to (why didn’t I bring some?)  The cooking I have done has not looked very pleasant, but it has tasted good, so I guess that is a plus.  But today I rose to the challenge.

My sister-in-law Ann took me shopping this morning (Wednesday April 8).  We had such a nice time meandering the market (ok…more like dodging motorcycles, maneuvering through puddles, and avoiding running into people) but we had a nice chat at lunch and she showed me many places.  Thank you Ann!

This afternoon while Toby was away at Volleyball practice (he and his brother, Kyle, are coaching the J.V. team at the local MK school) I returned home to begin dinner.  The electricity was off, which is nothing new, but imagine my dismay when there was no running water!  This also meant we had no working toilet.  So, I called a neighbor, who called a neighbor, and he came over to figure out what the problem was.   While he was sorting it all out I was in the kitchen deciding what to do for dinner.  I had planned on meatloaf and mashed potatoes with a nice green salad.  But for this dish I needed water.

Fortunately we had enough filtered water for me to use some for the potatoes and I had soaked and rinsed the salad vegi’s earlier this afternoon, so those items were feasible.  But with the water issue I had lost precious time and meatloaf takes a while to cook.  So, I decided to make meatballs (which I have never done before).  I had bought some fresh basil in the market so I thought Italian meatballs sounded like a good idea.

The meal was delicious…Toby especially enjoyed the meatballs.  In fact, he is looking forward to meatball sandwiches tomorrow night!  So, without water or electricity I was able to cook a lovely meal of Italian meatballs, garlic mashed potatoes, garlic bread and salad…with pineapple for dessert.  It was such an accomplishment that I had to share with you all.  Wish you had been here to enjoy the meal!

P.S.:  Much of this cooking was done with a hungry, crying boy running around wanting to be held.  Just after I stopped for a “dance break” with Caden a neighbor walked in to check on the water…she had a good laugh at our dancing.  The water problem?  Our tank was clogged.  Two of the men on the compound were able to get it going again just in time for Toby to wash the dishes.  Praise God!

Egg Noodles with Spinach

I have been actively searching for easy, YUMMY, easy, YUMMY, easy recipes for dinner. I have found that if it takes longer than 30 minutes to make (and that is for ME to make it, not for a TV chef who cooks all day and can do stuff super fast) then it is NOT going to work for me.

One of my favorite TV shows is America’s Test Kitchen.  They take a recipe and re-work it until it has the maximum YUM factor.  Usually this means that the recipe is long with many ingredients, but I purchased their Cook’s County Best Lost Suppers recently and have found some simpler recipes to try.

The most recent triumph from that cookbook was this:

Screaming Noodles

1 lb. wide egg noodles

2 TB olive oil

2 garlic cloves

1/2 ts dried basil

1/4 ts red pepper flakes

1 cup cottage cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth

2 (5-oz) bags baby spinach

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

Cook the egg noodles with 1 ts salt until al dente.  Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta cooking water.  Drain noodles.

Meanwhile, heat oil, garlic, basil, pepper flakes and 1/2 tx salt in saucepan over medium heat – about a minute.  Add cottage cheese, Parmesan and broth – cook until thickened 2 to 4 minutes.

Stir the sauce into noodles adjusting liquid level with reserved pasta cooking water.

Stir in the spinach one handful at a time and cook until wilted – about 30 seconds.

Add parsley and season with salt and pepper.

DONE!

AND….

*drumroll*

ALL THREE OF MY BOYS ATE IT.

And I ate it.

And I ate the left-overs because it was YUMMY.

More recipes from Cook’s County can be found here.

Spaghetti and Eyeballs…Oops, I Mean Meatballs

I made spaghetti and eyeballs for dinner. Take your basic meatball recipe and add pimento-stuffed olives for eyeballs before baking.

Arrange on a plate and add a sliver of carrot for a tongue. Shriek!!

Spaghetti and meatballs has always been one of Nicholas’ most favorite foods so he had lots of fun eating this

My family food…revised

When Carnation evaporated milk contacted me* to revise some of my favorite recipes using their milk vs. regular milk, I have to say I was a tad bit panicked.

Not because I have anything against evaporated milk, but because I am not exactly what you would consider…a cook.

Cooking is not one of my strengths.

I have accepted this.

My family has accepted this.

So when I was flipping through cookbooks trying to find a recipe with which I could try the Carnation milk, it occurred to me that I should just try it in what I might make on an average night.

Don’t be afraid.

First, I tried Macaroni and Cheese substituting the Carnation evaporated milk for the milk:

Why would you substitute evaporated milk for regular milk (besides the obvious problem of all the available milk in the house is out  of date)?

Because evaporated milk is…well…condensed, it has about double the nutrition of regular milk.  So even though the amount of milk used in mac and cheese is only a few tablespoons, I figure every bit helps.

Everything about the macaroni and cheese seemed totally normal and the boys ate it up with only a few questions as to why I was photographing their food.

The next common food I tried is my Easy Potato Soup Recipe:

I love this easy recipe and make it often.  I didn’t notice any difference in the taste when the evaporated milk was substituted.

The third family meal that I make a lot is scrambled eggs:

I know that doesn’t sound much like dinner, but my fourth frequent family meal is homemade waffles - so give me a break.

Anyway, I use eggs, cheddar cheese and milk along with salt and pepper.  This time I substituted the evaporated milk and it turned out really yummy.

I learned two things from this little experiment:

1. Evaporated milk can be substituted in almost any recipe.
2. My boys will eat almost anything I cook if I put it in those fancy bowls.

*Carnation sent me two cans of evaporated milk and a gift card for the cost of groceries.

Mini Barbeque Beef Pies

Hopefully your kids will like these. If not, they would be great for football watching parties!

• 1 lb. Ground Beef
• 1 small onion diced
• 1-2 cups of BBQ Sauce (use as much as you like)
• 1/2 of a large red pepper diced
• 1/2 cup of chopped sweet potatoes (I used canned)
• 1 ear of corn
• 2 1/4 cups of Bisquick
• 2/3 cup of Milk
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450°
2. Add beef and onion to skillet and cook until done.
3. Lower heat to simmer and mix in BBQ sauce, red pepper, sweet potato.
4. Cut the corn off the ear of corn and add that to the mix.
5. Mix Bisquick and milk in a bowl.
6. Drop a spoonful of dough into a muffin tin. Repeat until you’ve used all the dough.
7. Bake biscuits for about 2 minutes, then take out of oven and add a large spoonful of the meat mixture to each muffin tin on top of the biscuit dough. Press the spoon down making a little cup for the mix.
8. Sprinkle cheese on top and bake for another 8-10 minutes.

Wouldn’t these look cute stacked on a cupcake stand at a party?

Amy Locurto is a mom of two and graphic designer, Co-Founder of a photography blog iHeartFaces.com and provides free downloads, recipes and creative ideas on her blog LivingLocurto.com. She sometimes even gets a little sleep!

Wafflepalooza

I don’t cook much.

OK, I really don’t cook at all.

BUT I can make a mean waffle.  Waffles at our house are a major food group.  They take special priority and can occasionally be found at the dinner table.

*gasp!*

It isn’t all bad.  The boys enjoy applesauce or a fruit topping on the first one and then the syrup comes out for all to enjoy.  They really are good.

A few Christmases ago a family member gave us the fancy barnyard waffle maker.  I figure that protein is implied when the kids are eating cows and chickens.  The gift is well used.  It probably is used more than my oven.

The waffle recipe I use is originally from the Oster Belgian Waffle maker I received for my wedding 17 years ago.  I have tried a lot of other recipes, but this is by far my favorite:

LIGHT ‘N CRISP WAFFLES

2 egg yolks

2 cups milk

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup oil

2 egg whites, stiffly beaten

Preheat the waffle maker.  I separate the eggs placing the whites into a small mixing bowl and the yolks into a large mixing bowl.  I add all the other ingredients to the large mixing bowl.  I pull out my hand mixer and first whip up the eggs until fluffy.  Then mix the other ingredients with the hand mixer until they are combined.  I then fold in the egg whites with a spatula.

That is it!  Pour the batter into the waffle maker…

Mmmmmm.

Dinner? is served.*

*also works well for breakfast!

More yummy recipes can be found by visiting Rachel at A Southern Fairy Tale where she hosts Mouthwatering Monday .

When Holly isn’t trying to pass off breakfast food as dinner to her family, she is at June Cleaver Nirvana.

Chef

Meet my personal chef. Her name is Crockpot Versaware. She’s been in the family for about 3 years and I have come to rely on her heavily throughout the week. She specializes in soups and stews and other one-pot meals. Tonight she is cooking a Chicken Taco Soup. Until today, it was a super top secret recipe. However, I persuaded her to give me permission to share it with the lovely seven people who read this blog.

CHICKEN TACO SOUP
1 onion
1 tbl olive oil
2-4oz can chopped green chilis
1 -2 pkg taco seasoning (to taste)
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp garlic powder
2 cans diced tomatoes
6 cups chicken broth (low sodium, low fat)
2 cans Black beans (rinsed)
2 cups cooked chicken (or more to taste)

*Toppings—-cilantro, Monterey jack, tortilla chips

(note: add all juices of canned items if desired for extra flavor, but rinse the beans)

DIRECTIONS: Add all ingredients and cook for at least 6 hours on high.

Enjoy! And if you have any suggestions regarding how to persuade your personl chef to clean up after dinner, I’m all ears.

P.S. OR this recipe might have come from a super sweet friend who brought me a big pot of soup while we were all sick.

*****************

I create fun and colorful flashcards for children. When you do that long enough, you begin to see the world as a series of flashcards. Sometimes they are funny. Sometimes they are warm and fuzzy. Sometimes they are mildly innappropriate. Come see the snark at The Flashcard Zoo Blog.

DFW Blogger Dinner

Calling all bloggers in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and beyond…

We are meeting at 7 pm for dinner in a central Dallas location. A small group of us have met on several previous occasions. Let me just say that there are no strangers among bloggers…each evening was full of fun and giggles…lots of giggles…and more giggles.

The RSVP count to date is around 25. A list of attending bloggers is listed on the June Cleaver Nirvana sidebar if you want to see if your favorite local bloggers are coming. Please join the fun!

For more details, to RSVP or to get the super secret location, please contact any of the hostesses including Holly here at Burbmom.net (holly@burbmom.net).

Hope to see you there!

The Ultimate Challenge -$5 Dinners?

Is it possible to make a family dinner for $5?  You can get all the details on February 21 when the $5 Dinner Mom comes to Dallas-Fort Worth to show us how.

Here is the information from her website:

I can’t wait to get back to my home state and my old college stomping grounds and share about how I manage to make $5 dinners every night!

Workshop Information

Is it really possible to make a healthy, family dinner for less than $5? Join Erin, the web’s $5 Dinner Mom (www.5dollardinners.com), to learn strategies for significantly cutting your family’s food budget and the secrets to making wholesome and nutritious meals within that budget. Recipes and fun included! Come and bring a friend.

Day: Saturday, February 21st

Times: 10am – Noon OR 1:30pm – 3:30 pm

Location: Grapevine Community Activities Center, 1175 Municipal Way, Grapevine, Texas 76051

Fee: $5/person

Registration Information

If you are a member of the Grapevine Parks and Recs system, you can register at www.playgrapevine.com. The class code is 709512.

If you are not, then please call 817-410-3450.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me by email!

I look forward to meeting those of you in the DFW area!