Roast

I made this last night for dinner. It is really basic, but it turned out super yummy and used ingredients that I already had on hand.

1 boneless chuck roast 

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 packet brown gravy mix

1 packet onion soup mix

2 cups water

Combine all ingredients in the crock pot. I fried the roast in some oil before putting it into the crock pot. My roast was frozen, so I cooked it on high for 6 hours and it was perfect. We used the gravy on rice, but it would be tasty on potatoes or noodles, too.

Lime Chicken Fajitas!

Who doesn't like fajitas? These are so good, that the next night after we had them I said to Mark- is it wrong if we have fajitas again? and he said - no! I'll make them! 

Well, I wasn't going to argue with that!

 You will need:

4 boneless chicken thighs, sliced

1 lime

1 lg onion, sliced into large round slices

1 gr. pepper or red in slices

two cloves fresh garlic

olive oil

1 pkg. flour or corn fajita tortillas

Sour Cream

1 Avocado

Pico de Gallo (see below)

In a large frying pan  heat several Tbs. olive oil. Add 1 crushed garlic clove and the sliced onion. After a minute or two, add the peppers.

Add salt and pepper, fry till the onions and peppers are brown on the edges and carmelized.

Remove from pan. 

Add chicken and another Tbs. olive oil. Add the other clove of crushed garlic. Season with salt and pepper and juice of one lime. Fry until chicken slices are well-done and starting to get a little crispy and brown. (This is why you are using dark meat, not light, the meat will not dry out too much).

Toss with onions and peppers and spoon all into a serving dish. 

Heat your tortillas. Call everyone to the table, and serve with sour cream, a slice of avocado and Pico de Gallo. This is what mine looked like just before I gobbled it up!

Mmmmm it was good!

 

Pico de Gallo Recipe

I just started making this stuff and I could eat it everyday. So fresh and tasty!

1/2 lg onion, minced

1 Tomato

Tbs/ Lime or lemon juice

few Tbs. fresh cilantro (more is better!)

salt & pepper

Summer Squash Pasta Bake

Well, I think it is about time for some new recipes!

First, I'll post one of our favorite summer-time dinners. If your garden is overloaded with squash, zucchini and tomatoes right about now, (or your neighbor's is), this is a great dish to make. I'm not really sure exactly how I came up with it, I just know there is something magical about the flavor combinations- it's like music in your mouth!

It starts with 9x13 pan full of cooked spiral pasta. I use 3/4 of a regular sized box. It has a creamy sauce but it's made of sour cream, not mayo.

After you have your pasta cooked, (I do mine in the microwave), and in the pan add the following:

3/4 to 1 c. sour cream - I never actually measure, just a big scoop out of the tub with a serving spoon.

Sprinkle entire surface with a generous amount of

Garlic Powder

Onion Powder

Dried or fresh Dill Weed

Salt -Pepper

The hot pasta will melt the sour cream, and you can stir it all together. It will look like this:

Now for the squash. Slice 2 small each or one large each of yellow squash and zucchini. Layer on a cookie sheet lined with foil. Drizzle entire surface with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Broil at 500º till they are tender and just start to get a little brown around the edges, maybe 10 min. or so.

When they are cooked, layer them in the pan on top of the noodles.

Now for the tomatoes!  Dice 2-3 large tomatoes, and layer on top of broiled squash. Now sprinkle with about a half cup of grated parmesan and return to oven, broil just until tomatoes are hot and cheese starts to melt. Season the top with salt and fresh cracked pepper and serve.

Delish!

Lil' Pizzas

These are so easy and one of our family favorites! It's a quick fix for all of your pizza cravings!

Recipe:
1-2 cans of Pillsbury Biscuit dough
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
grated cheese
pepperoni, sausage, spinach (whatever your favorite toppings are!)

*Take the biscuit dough and spread them out with your hands to thin them out and to make them a little bit bigger in size. Place on a greased cookie sheet. Put a Tbls. or so of your favorite spaghetti sauce on top of the biscuit dough and spread to desired width. Top with cheese and your favorite toppings. Bake at 425. And of course, ENJOY!

100% Original Chicken Sandwich

Sometimes when I am really bored or stuck in the "same old" dinner rut, I like to go into the kitchen and start inventing/experimenting! This is 1 of 2 original sandwiches I have created! This one I think might be the favorite one, but we haven't had the other one in a while, so it may be a toss up!

Recipe:
1 loaf of Rosemary Olive Oil bread from Costco!!!
2 chicken breast defrosted
spinach leaves
1 package of Provolone cheese
1/2 package of bacon (optional)

Sauce:
1/2 cup of Olive Oil Mayonnaise (Best Foods)
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 of a lemon (squeezed) or 2 Tbls. of lemon juice
salt, pepper, and garlic salt to taste

*Cut the rosemary bread into even slices, making sure you have enough pieces to complete a whole sandwich. Butter both sides of the bread, and then you can either grill it or broil it until golden brown on each side. (Don't leave the bread unattended, trust me it can burn really easily!) In the mean time season both sides of the chicken breast with garlic salt and either put them on the grill or broil them as well, until fully cooked through, then slice into stripes. Then Mix your sauce together and spoon enough to cover one side of each slice of bread, and then place on a cookie sheet. Top one side of each sandwich with the strips of chicken, spinach leaves, bacon (if desired), and then one full slice of provolone cheese! On the other slice of bread, top with one half piece of provolone cheese. Stick under the broiler until the cheese is golden and bubbly. Pull out of the oven, and put the sandwiches together. Cut in half (if desired) and then of course, PLEASE ENJOY!!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Pizza Dough:
1 Cup Warm Water
3 Cups Flour ( or 2 +)
2-3 T. Honey
3 T. Olive Oil
2 tsp. Yeast
1 tsp. Salt
*Mix all ingredients together but the flour, then add the flour starting with 2 cups and then add more as needed. Let dough rise for at least one hour. Then with lots of Patience spread the dough out over the pan! You can use a round pizza pan or a cookie sheet. The dough is temperamental at first, but the more you spread it the more workable it becomes! After dough is spread, poke holes in it with a fork, this is to prevent air bubbles. Then with a spoon spread your favorite BBQ sauce over the bottom. (My favorite is Sweet Baby Rays Original!) Then top with Mozzarella cheese, chicken, spinach, bell peppers, etc. (whatever your favorite toppings are.) Bake at 425 for 15-20 min. Enjoy!
*Caution: This may cause extreme weight gain and addiction. Over Eaters Anonymous my be required after the first bite! I do not take responsibility for any scales that my break or addictions that may occur!
This is a great regular Pizza sauce recipe also if you are craving just a regular old pepperoni pizza:
8 oz. tomato sauce
1 0z. water
2 1/2 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp. dehydrated onion
1/16 tsp. garlic salt
1 1/2 tsp. oil
1/4 tsp. sugar
I am not sure what a 1/16 tsp. is... so I just guesstimate on all of these ingredients and it still comes out really good! Enjoy!