Cheeseburger Sliders

Last week we were iced in on Thursday & Friday. That meant no on-site school and a little extra time to catch up on laundry and try out a new recipe. I'm not sure how I came across this one, but I was certain I had everything on hand and it looked like something my people would enjoy.

I found the original recipe here and adapted it according to what I really did have on hand as I was way off on what I had available.

CHEESEBURGER SLIDERS

Get this:

2 pound ground beef (I used one each of beef & deer)

2 teaspoon garlic paste

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons dried minced onion

1 teaspoon black pepper

6 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 cup BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's)

4 teaspoons Chick-fil-A sauce

3 cups shredded cheese (I used finely shredded fiesta blend)

1 to 2 pkgs Hawaiian Rolls (I used almost 2 pkgs to fill an 11x15 baking dish)

1 stick of butter

1 tablespoon of homemade Everything Bagel Seasoning

Do this:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Brown ground meat with garlic, salt, dried onion and pepper. Drain.

Stir cream cheese, BBQ sauce & Chick-fil-A sauce together then stir into cooked meat.

Slice rolls horizontally and arrange bottom halves in baking dish. I used an 11x15 baking dish, but you can certainly use a 9x13 and cut this recipe in half.

Sprinkle half of cheese over rolls. Top with meat mixture. Cover with remaining cheese. Put top halves of rolls back in place.

Melt butter and pour over top of rolls, then sprinkle with everything seasoning.

Cover tightly with foil and bake for 20 -30 minutes until cheese is melted and rolls are heated through.

This was really good and something new to us. I'll make it again, but probably only if we are having guests as it was a LOT of food and even my large family could eat it all.

Easy Lasagna

Photo Source

My mother found this recipe on the back of a box of Skinner lasagna over 30 years ago.  She made it all my life and then, of course, shared the recipe with me. And now, because I love to make your life in the kitchen easier, I am sharing it with you.

I hear so many folks so they don't make lasagna because it's too hard.  Well, not any more! Lasagna can't get any easier than this. YOU DON'T HAVE TO BOIL YOUR NOODLES! I know you can't believe that, but you add extra water to your sauce and that cooks the noodles while it's baking.

AND, it makes A LOT! So, either invite some friends or plan to eat it again later in the week.

Try it...I promise you won't be disappointed!

GET THIS:
1 lb ground beef
1 jar (24 oz) spaghetti sauce
1 1/2 cups water
1 container (15 oz ) ricotta or small curd cottage cheese
2 cups (8 oz) shredded mozzarella or Monterey Jack cheese, divided
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
9 pieces Lasagna, uncooked

DO THIS:

Pre-heat oven to 350°F. In 2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat, brown meat; drain. Add spaghetti sauce and water; simmer about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in medium bowl, stir together ricotta cheese, one-half mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, eggs, parsley, salt and pepper. Pour about 1 cup sauce on bottom of 11x7inch baking dish. Arrange 3 uncooked pasta pieces lengthwise over sauce; cover with 1 cup sauce. Spread one-half cheese filling over sauce. Repeat layers of pasta, sauce and cheese filling. Top with layer of pasta and remaining sauce; sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil. Bake 45 minutes. Remove foil; bake additional 10 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.

Poppy Seed Chicken

I apologize for not taking a picture of this one.  Honestly, I thought I did, but apparently not, because I can't find one.  So, just trust me...this one is quick, easy and real a family favorite.
Ingredients:
3 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 can of cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1 sleeve crushed Ritz crackers
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter, melted

Combine chicken, soup, sour cream and poppy seeds.  Spoon into a lightly greased 11x7 baking dish. Combine crushed crackers and butter, then sprinkle over the chicken mixture.  Bake, uncovered at 350 for 30 minutes.

My notes:
You can cook your chicken any way you like...boiled, roasted, grilled, baked...whatever you wanna do. I boiled mine just because it was easy and I was short on time.

I also doubled the recipe because I knew one 11x7 baking dish wouldn't be enough for my family of 6.  I put it in a 9x13.  It was a LOT, but we enjoyed having leftovers.  Hope you enjoy!

Microwave Chicken Tortilla Casserole

I had a house full of company (the 6 of us plus all 4 grandparents) when I made this one, so I failed to get a picture of it. But I got the recipe from Southern Plate and she always has some good pics of her food. So, if you must see it, click on the link above and check it out.

Ingredients

2 cups chicken (give or take, just use however much you have)

8 oz sour cream

2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided

1 cup french fried onion, divided

4 ounce chopped green chilies

1 pkg taco seasoning

3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

2 -10 inch flour tortillas

Directions

Place chicken, sour cream, half of cheese, half of onions, chopped green chilies, taco seasoning, and chopped cilantro in a large mixing bowl. Stir well to combine. Tear one tortilla into small pieces and add to bowl, stirring again until well incorporated.

Line a pie plate with remaining tortilla and spoon mixture into it. Place in microwave for five minutes.* Remove and top with remaining onions and cheese. Microwave for one minute more, or until cheese is melted. Enjoy!

*Note: Microwave ovens vary widely in temperature so you may need to alter the cooking time to suit your microwave. Since the chicken is fully cooked, there isn’t a danger of under cooking this meal so you can just go with these guidelines and give or take a minute or so if you feel it needs it. This is a VERY flavorful casserole and leftovers heat up really well.

My notes:

When I read the original recipe, it recommended using a rotisserie chicken purchased from the deli.  My plan was to do that, but the only ones they had read when I was at the store were BBQ.  Obviously I wasn't going to use BBQ chicken in a mexican dish, and I didn't have the 20 minutes it was gonna take for another one to be ready.  So, I went with canned all white meat chicken.  I used 2 of the large cans.

I don't remember the total ounces of the can of french fried onions, but I ended up using the whole can.

Go easy on the cilantro.  I didn't really measure when I was putting mine in and I must have gotten a little heavy handed with it.  It was a little strong, but still quite tasty and no one DIDN'T eat it.  (o:

So, the verdict?  I will make this one again...probably several times...throughout the summer.  I love that I didn't have to heat up my house because all the cooking was done in the microwave.  I doubled the recipe to make 2 of them and served 6 adults and 4 children.  We had about 2/3 of one of them left over and everyone got all they wanted.  It was accompanied by a green salad, chips, salsa & cheese dip.  Enjoy!

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

1 (10.75 ounce) can Cream of Chicken Soup

1 (8 ounce) container sour cream

1 cup Picante Sauce

2 teaspoons chili powder

2 cups chopped cooked chicken

1 cup shredded Monterrey Jack cheese

10 Mission® Fajita Size Flour Tortillas, warmed

1 medium tomato, chopped

1 green onion, sliced

Directions

1.Mix soup, sour cream, picante sauce and chili powder.

2.Mix 1 cup picante sauce mixture, chicken and cheese.

3.Spread about 1/4 cup chicken mixture down center of each tortilla. Roll up and place seam-side down in 3-quart shallow baking dish. Pour remaining picante sauce mixture over enchiladas. Cover.

4.Bake at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes or until hot. Top with tomato and onion.

My notes:

Instead of Picante sauce, I used a restaurant style salsa (medium heat). I added an additional teaspoon of chili powder because we like things spicy around here.  For my chicken, I had a 6 oz bag of pre-cooked, seasoned fajita chicken.  I used it, but also browned some chicken strips in a dry skillet with a little bit of cumin.  All together, I probably used 2 1/4 cups of chicken.  I did not have Monterrey Jack cheese, so I used what I had on hand which was a "fiesta blend."  I didn't use a tomato because the ones you buy in the grocery store this time of year are less than appetizing.  I drained a can of rotel really well and used it instead.  I also forgot to warm my tortillas before filling them.  Oh, and I sprinkled about a 1/2 cup of cheese on top before I put them in the oven.

So, considering all of the changes I mentioned above, was it appetizing.  I would say so.  The family loved it.  It had a nice kick to it and was definitely more of a Tex-Mex dish than traditional Mexican.  I served it with one of those seasoned rice mix thingies that come in an envelope...Spanish Rice of course...and chips and cheese dip.  My 6-year-old couldn't get enough and just kept asking for more.  I would say that's a good sign.

What will I do differently next time?  I will heat the chicken filling in the microwave until it is really warm before I fill the tortillas.  The dish was in the oven the required amount of time, but the filling wasn't as warm as it should have been.  I could have left it in longer, I suppose, but the edges of the tortillas were beginning to get a little hard.  I think this would solve the temperature problem rather than heating the tortillas.

I quit typing now, so you can run to the store and get all the stuff to make these for dinner!

Roasted Spicy Mayonnaise Chicken Breasts

Ingredients

•1/2 cup mayonnaise

•2 lemons, zest finely grated

•2 teaspoons paprika

•1 teaspoon celery seeds

•1 teaspoon salt, plus additional for seasoning

•1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus additional for seasoning

•Pinch cayenne pepper

•4 (8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.

In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, lemon zest, paprika, celery seeds, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Season the chicken with additional salt and pepper, to taste. Arrange the chicken on the prepared baking sheet. Slather the mayonnaise mixture over the chicken. Bake until the juices run clear when the chicken is pricked with a fork, about 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a serving platter and serve hot.

My notes:

I completely forgot to take pics of this one.  You'll just have to trust "my notes".  This is good, but VERY RICH.  It is something I will most likely make again, but no one at my house is gonna cry out in the night for it.

I omitted the lemon zest when I made it due to an allergy in my family.  But I'm sure it would be delish WITH the lemon zest.

Spaghetti Carbonara

•1/2 inch olive oil (for frying pan)

•2 cloves minced garlic

•1 chopped onion

•8 to 12 thick slices Italian bacon

•4 eggs

•2 packages spaghetti (I use 2-16 oz packages)

•2 cups grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

In a frying pan, combine 1/2 inch of olive oil, 2 cloves of minced garlic, one chopped onion and the Italian bacon cut into small squares. Let simmer for about a half-hour, being careful not to let the oil get to a boiling point.

In a bowl, beat 4 eggs with lots of salt and fresh ground pepper.

Bring a pan of salted water to a boil. Cook both packages of spaghetti until al dente, drain and immediately add egg mixture to pasta. The eggs are actually cooked by the pasta. (Make sure the eggs are thoroughly cooked before proceeding.) Stir the egg mixture until it is well mixed. Pour in the mixture from the frying pan and stir. Finish with the Parmesan cheese and serve!

My notes:

This recipe was featured on Oprah by Tom Cruise.  The day I saw it I just happened to have everything on hand to make it so I tried it out.  It has become a staple in our house.  We absolutely love it.

Italian bacon is not easy to come by at the places I typically shop and I will not drive all over town looking for it, so we just use thick sliced bacon.

Olive oil 1/2 inch deep seems like a massive amount of olive oil.  Yes, I was scared too, but do what it says and you'll be pleasantly surprised.

A couple of times I have also browned a pound of Italian sausage and added it to the olive oil the last 5 minutes of cooking.  It adds more meat to the dish and further pleases the men in my life.

I consistently forget to take a picture of this dish.  So, you'll just have to trust me on this one.  We LOVE it and it has become a regular on the family menu.

The recipe says it serves 4. I'm not sure how much these 4 people are expected to eat, but when I make it, it serves at least 8.  We made it for a recent family gathering and it served 14 with several people going back for seconds.

Easy Parm Garlic Chicken

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 envelope italian salad dressing mix
1/2 tsp garlic powder
4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Preheat oven to 400F.  Mix cheese, salad dressing mix and garlic powder in shallow dish. I use a pie plate.

Moisten chicken with water; coat with cheese mixture.  Place in shallow baking dish.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until cooked through.  The instructions don't say to cover it, but I do.  I'm afraid my chicken will dry out if I don't.

Clubhouse Chicken Squares

Ingredients

2 cans crescent rolls

8 oz cream cheese

2 tbs mayo

1 garlic clove, pressed

1 tsp dill mix (Pampered Chef Brand)

1 can white chunk chicken

sliced cucumber

diced tomatoes

shredded cheddar cheese

crumbled bacon

Directions

Preheat oven to 375.  Line bottom and sides of pan with crescent rolls.  Seal perforations.  Bake 10-12 minutes, then cool completely.  Combine cream cheese, mayo, garlic and dill.  Spread cream cheese mixture over baked crescents.  Top with chicken, cucumber, tomatoes, shredded cheese and bacon.  Chill 30 minutes.  Cut into squares.

My notes:

I did not have Pampered Chef Brand Dill Mix, so I used just plain old dill.  Worked just fine.

I did not have a cucumber, so I steamed broccoli then chopped it up.  Worked just fine.

I did not have fresh tomatoes, so I drained a can of rotel.  Worked just fine.

This recipe was written for the Pampered Chef Large Bar Pan.  If you do not own this stoneware piece, I'm sure you can easily adapt this recipe for a 9x13 pyrex or even a sheet cake pan would probably work.  However, if you do not own the Bar Pan, I highly recommend you buy one.  It is an extremely versatile piece and I plan to post several ways you can use it.  AND, Pampered Chef Stoneware is on sale 20% off this month.  You can click HERE to shop and buy.  I also recommend the Stoneware Fluted Pan (recipes for CAKE IN THE MICROWAVE to come).

Okay, back to the recipe above...In addition to the dill and garlic, I also added a nice little shake of Salt & Spice to the cream cheese mixture.

Hubby came home for lunch today.  He said, unprompted, that this one was a keeper.  It would work well for a brunch, lunch, potluck...just a very versatile little dish.  We all really enjoyed it.  Hope you do too!

Dried Tomato & Garlic Pesto

This started as a cute little jar of stuff my mother picked up for me at a discount store.  However you can buy it online at Tastefully Simple.  I must say it was quite tasty and quite simple.  The directions were to mix olive oil and water with the stuff in the jar, let it sit for at least 5 minutes, microwave it for a whopping 1 1/2 minutes, stir in parmesan and pour it over your favorite pasta.  How easy is that!?!?!  Since there was no meat in this little jar, and the directions did not include adding meat of any kind, I had to be creative for the carnivore that I live with.  I sliced a handful of Little Smokies into circles and tossed them around in a hot skillet with a little italian seasoning.  I had opened a can of black olives at lunch.  So, I sliced those up as well.  Found a can of quartered artichoke hearts in the pantry and coursely chopped those too.  The final result was Dried Tomato & Garlic Pesto with parmesan, italian sausage, artichokes & black olives over whole wheat rotini.  Whew!  That's a mouth full!  BUT, it was delicious, all of us enjoyed it, and I will most likely be ordering some more of these cute little jars!!!

Soul Food

1 head of cabbage
1 can of Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 cup uncooked rice
1 pound Polish sausage
your favorite seasoning

Cook rice according to package directions.  While rice is cooking, cut up cabbage into bite-size pieces.  Cut up sausage into bite-size pieces.  Stir cabbage, soup, cooked rice and sausage together.  Stir in your favorite seasoning.  Put in 11x15 pyrex baking dish.  Bake covered at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

My notes:

Before you start, get out the biggest bowl you own.  It's probably not big enough, but it will have to work, huh?  "Success" rice bags that you boil in water are the perfect amount for this recipe, so you could just buy Success rice.  I, however, have an over abundant amount of rice gifted to me each year at Christmas and well...let's put it this way...I haven't bought rice in 5 years...not kidding!

I still haven't figured out what side(s) to serve with this.  It's a veggie, a starch, a meat, etc, all in one dish.  So, what do you fix to go with that???  Please, leave me your comments and let me know your thoughts and ideas!

Jalapeno & Cream Cheese Stuffed Chicken

This has been our entree for Christmas Dinner for the last several years and is a family favorite with many at our house.  It is a recipe that I created by adapting and merging a few other recipes initially.  It has also evolved over the years.  Pardon the pictures.  I didn't remember to take them until all the damage had been done.  (o:
 

Boneless skinless chicken breasts

fresh, raw jalapenos - not pickled (one per chicken breast)

cream cheese - cold and straight out of fridge - one 8 ounce block is enough for 16 chicken breasts

salt & spice

bacon

toothpicks

Remove stems from jalapenos, slit them down one side with a knife then remove seeds.  A baby spoon works really well for removing the seeds.  Cut cream cheese into sticks about the size of your pinky finger and coat each stick in S&S.  I pour S&S in a bowl and roll the sticks around in it.  Stuff one cream cheese stick into each pepper.  Pound each chicken breast to about 1/4 inch and wrap around a stuffed pepper.  Wrap chicken breast in strip of bacon and secure with toothpicks.

Place stuffed chicken breasts in glass baking dish and cover with foil.  Bake 1-2 hours or until juices run clear.  Remove foil the last 10 to 15 minutes of baking to allow bacon to brown.

We have found that about half way through the baking it helps to remove the foil and drain some of the liquid from the pan then put it back in the oven.  On the baking time: plan on it taking longer than you think.  We did 18 chicken breasts this year and it took about 2 1/2 hours for baking time alone.  This dish is obviously a 2-man job with all that it entails, but I assure you it is well worth the work.  My suggestion is to get an assembly line going when assembling.  This year we had 3 sets of hands working: 1 pounding chicken, 1 working with cream cheese and peppers, and 1 wrapping and securing.  We had it done in no time.

Dirty Diapers

1 lb ground sausage

8 oz cream cheese, cut up into small pieces

2 cans crescent rolls

Brown sausage and drain WELL. I usually press mine between several paper towels to get out as much grease as possible.  Wipe excess grease out of skillet and put sausage back in it.  Add cream cheese and turn skillet on medium-low, stirring occasionally, until cream cheese melts into sausage. The cream cheese is cup up in pieces just because it melts faster.

Put a heaping tablespoon of sausage/cream cheese mixture into each crescent roll.  Roll up.  Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350F for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

My notes:

Let's start with the obvious...the name.  My mother ran across this recipe sometime while I was in college.  She didn't have a name for these little boogers and I decided to name them according to their looks.  Thus...DIRTY DIAPERS.  I know it's pretty gross, but remember I was probably only 19 when I came up with this.  So, I'll plead stupidity of my youth.  BUT, if you can get past the name, please give these a try.  I promise you won't be disappointed.  We eat these with cheese dip and chips and call it a meal.  My husband actually dips his in the cheese dip.  I have also eaten them dipped in salsa.  YUM!  Or, I have made them plenty of times as appetizers - just split the crescents and make them 1/2 size.  Another note:  There are 8 crescent rolls per can.  This will give you 16 "diapers."  However, my mother manages to stretch the filling and use 3 cans of rolls.  We, on the other hand, like ours more meaty!

These do not reheat wonderfully.  However, if you just want to fix one can (8 rolls), the filling will keep up to a week in the fridge.  You can pop it out and fill up the crescents and have round 2.  These would also make great after school snacks.  Oh, and the other day when I made these, I made the filling around 2:00 and didn't fill the rolls to bake them until after 5:00.  Don't you just love make-ahead stuff!

Country French Chicken Skillet

2 T of butter
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup water
1 package of KNORR vegetable soup mix
1/2 cup of sour cream

Melt butter in skillet and brown chicken on both sides on medium heat. Add water and soup mix and place on low for about 20 mins or until chicken is no longer pink. Remove chicken and stir in sour cream to make sauce. Serve over egg noodles.

This was very easy and tasty. It also looked pretty and that's always a bonus.

Got this one from my dear friend Megan.  Will for sure make it again...and again...and again.

Not-so-Swedish Meatballs

5 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 soup can of water
1/3 cup dried minced onion
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon black pepper (I used 2 teaspoons)

3 lbs frozen meatballs (I used 4lbs because I couldn't find either a 3 lb bag or a 6 lb bag in my grocery store.  Worked just fine.)

1 large (16 oz) package wide egg noodles

Coat crockpot or large roasting pan with cooking spray. I forgot to do this and it wasn't the end of the world.

Stir together first 6 ingredients in crockpot or pan.  Mix in frozen meatballs, making sure the tops are covered with sauce.

Cook in crockpot on low for 6-7 hours or in tightly covered roasting pan @ 350F for 5-6 hours.

Half an hour before cooking time is up, prepare egg noodles.

Serve meatballs with lots of sauce over noodles.  We also had a green salad and garlic bread.

White Chili

8 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped
6 cans white beans (navy, great northern, etc) *do not drain beans
2 cans chicken broth
8 cloves garlic
2 onion, chopped
1-4 Tbsp chopped jalepenos (to taste)
4 tsp cumin
2 tsp oregano
1 1/2 tsp red pepper
2 cans chopped green chilis
4 Tbsp olive oil
shredded monterey jack cheese

Heat oil in stock pot. Add onions and garlic. Saute' until onions are tender. Add chicken, broth, green chilis, cumin, oregano and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and add beans and jalepenos. Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes or until heated thoroughly. Serve topped with shredded cheese.

My notes~
*chicken can be boiled or even skillet fried with butter and your favorite seasoning to add extra flavor
*cook chicken ahead of time and refrigerate; cold chicken is easier to cut up
*this makes about 5 quarts of chili; if that is too much it is easily halved; or I have been told it will probably freeze/thaw well; it doesn't lasts long enough around here to be frozen

You will notice that I mentioned in the previous post that I would post pics of the chili. Suffice to say that I may hold my own in the kitchen, but I am neither a food stylist nor a photographer. When I photographed the chili, it looked... Well...less than appetizing. (o: