Sweet Potato Fries!

I have been MIA for a while but I have been making new recipes each week! I just have been stinky at posting them and uploading pictures.
We tried these sweet potato fries the other night in attempts to expose the kiddos to new veggies. We all loved them.

• 1/2 teaspoon(s) ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
• 1/4 teaspoon(s) ground red pepper
• 1 tablespoon(s) vegetable oil
• 2 large (about 1 1/2 pounds) sweet potatoes

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Directions

1. Prepare the sweet potatoes: In a small bowl, combine cumin, salt, and pepper. Set aside. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Peel potatoes, cut each in half lengthwise, and cut each half into 6 wedges. In a large bowl, combine the cut potatoes, oil, and spice mixture. Toss until potatoes are evenly coated.
2. Bake the fries: On a baking sheet, arrange potatoes in a single layer and place on the middle shelf of the oven. Bake until edges are crisp and potatoes are cooked through -- about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

smashed cauliflower

Looking for a way to dress up a mundane side dish? Want something better than 'just veggies' with minimal fuss? Try smashed cauliflower! You'll love it and your kids will too.

Smashing the cauliflower. Steam a bag of frozen cauliflower. Add cream cheese (2oz) for body and sour cream (2 good-sized spoonfuls, probably 3 Tblsp), and 2-3 tsp salt.

Mash the cauliflower using food processor or immersion blender. I haven't tried a potato masher or food mill, but I suppose those would work fine. Mash to the desired texture. You may need to reheat the smash, since it tends to lose some heat in the process.

Variations and tips at http://cookinthebooks.wordpress.com/2010/04/25/smashed-cauliflower-from-mundane-to-magical/

Even Better Pizza Dough!

I thought I had found the perfect pizza dough recipe until I tried this one. It makes for a little thicker crust but its light and really yummy too!

• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (1 pouch)
• 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

1. In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and brown sugar in the water, and let sit for 10 minutes.
2. Stir the salt and oil into the yeast solution. Mix in 2 1/2 cups of the flour.
3. Turn dough out onto a clean, well floured surface, and knead in more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. Place the dough into a well oiled bowl, and cover with a cloth. Let the dough rise until double; this should take about 1 hour. Punch down the dough, and form a tight ball. Allow the dough to relax for a minute before rolling out. Use for your favorite pizza recipe.
4. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). If you are baking the dough on a pizza stone, you may place your toppings on the dough, and bake immediately. If you are baking your pizza in a pan, lightly oil the pan, and let the dough rise for 15 or 20 minutes before topping and baking it.
5. I pre baked my crust for about 5 minutes before topping it.
6. Bake pizza in preheated oven, until the cheese and crust are golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.

Amazing Crusted Chicken

I found this recipe at allrecipes.com. It was SO good! Aidan asked when we could have it again. The chicken was so tender and the flavor was great. We served it with steamed broccoli and it was a major hit on our house!

Ingredients

• 2 cups cheese flavored crackers (such as Cheez-It®), crushed
• 1 cup French-fried onions, crushed
• 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
• 2 teaspoons sesame seed, toasted
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut in half
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). ( I did 400 b/c of some of the reviews of the recipe) Spray a baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Mix cheese-flavored crackers, French-fried onions, Italian bread crumbs, sesame seeds, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Set aside.
3. Wash and pat chicken breasts dry. Spread a thin layer of mayonnaise on one side of each piece and place mayonnaise-side down in the cracker mixture. Spread a thin layer of mayonnaise on the other side of the chicken and cover with the cracker mixture, patting firmly into the chicken. Place chicken breasts on the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle remaining cracker mixture on top; lightly spray the chicken with cooking spray.
4. Bake in the preheated oven until the chicken breasts are no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, 35 to 40 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 165 degrees F 

Strawberry-Orange Smoothies

We tried this smoothie recipe from The Best Life Diet by Bob Greene and it was really good!

1 1/2 cups vanilla soymilk

2 cups (10 oz bag) frozen unsweetened strawberries

1 medium banana, cut into chunks

1/3 c orange juice

Honey, to taste if desired (we did not use this)

Put everything in the blender or smoothie maker and whirl to perfection. (c: We topped ours with a spoonful of granola and it was really good! 

Crock Pot/Slow Cooker Cobbler

I was looking for a no-fuss fruit dessert and ran across this one (thatsmyhome.com). We have had it with blackberries and I've also substituted frozen peaches. Both are very good.

1 package (14 oz.) frozen blackberries (3 cups), thawed and drained (I did not thaw or drain the peaches.)

1/2 C. sugar

1/3 C. water

1 t. lemon juice

1 C. Bisquick Original baking mix

2 T. sugar

1/3 C. milk

Ground cinnamon

Whipping cream or vanilla ice cream, if desired

Mix blackberries, 1/2 cup sugar, the water, and lemon juice in crockpot. Cover and cook on low 3 to 4 hours, or until mixture is boiling. Sprinkle cinnamon over top before adding dough mixture.

Mix Bisquick and 2 Tbsp sugar in small bowl. Stir in milk just until dry ingredients are moistened. Drop dough by 6 spoonfuls onto hot berry mixture. Sprinkle with cinnamon.

Cover and cook on high 20 to 25 minutes.

To serve, spoon dumpling into dessert dish. Spoon berry mixture over dumpling. Top with whipping cream or ice cream.

New Marinade

I tried this pork marinade last night and it was really yummy. I think it will be great once we start using the grill in a month or so!

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 6 (4 ounce) boneless pork loin chops

Directions

1. In a large resealable bag, combine lemon juice, oil, garlic, salt, oregano, and pepper. Place chops in bag, seal, and refrigerate 2 hours or overnight. Turn bag frequently to distribute marinade.
2. Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat. Remove chops from bag, and transfer remaining marinade to a saucepan. Bring marinade to a boil, remove from heat, and set aside.
3. Lightly oil the grill grate. Grill pork chops for 5 to 7 minutes per side, basting frequently with boiled marinade, until done.

Amazing Pizza Crust

I tried this recipe a few weeks ago and it is becoming our Friday night dinner. I am loving this recipe! It is SO easy!

• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast (converts to 2 1/4 teaspoons of yeast in a jar)
• 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 2 1/ 2 cups bread flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons white sugar

Directions

1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, combine 2 1/ 2 cups bread flour, olive oil, salt, white sugar and the yeast mixture; stir well to combine. Beat well until a stiff dough has formed. Cover and rise until doubled in volume, about 45-60 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
3. Turn dough out onto a well floured surface. Form dough into a round and roll out into a pizza crust shape. If it is too sticky add up to 1/2 cup more flour. Spread onto pizza pan and pre bake about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cover with your favorite sauce and toppings and bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Weeknight Chicken Fajitas- YUM!

I had a lot of these ingredients on hand so I decided to give this Weeknight Chicken Fajitas from Kraftfoods  a try. It was really good and we will surely be making it again!

1 tsp. oil

1 lb.  boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips

1/4 cup KRAFT Italian Dressing

3 cups  pre-cut mixed fresh stir-fry vegetables (carrots, red and green peppers, onions, broccoli, snow peas) (I used peppers and onions and edamame) 

2 tsp. chili powder

8   flour tortillas (6 inch)

1 cup KRAFT Shredded Cheddar Cheese

HEAT oil in nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 5 min. or until done, stirring occasionally.

STIR in dressing, vegetables and chili powder; cook 5 min. or until vegetables are crisp-tender, stirring occasionally.

TOP tortillas with chicken mixture and cheese; roll up. (we rolled them like burritos so the sauce wouldn't drip out) 

a flop!

Cook's Illustrated had a recipe for a lemon cream cheese coffee cake and it looked like a good opportunity to keep working with the new-to-us Kitchen Aid Pro. I am not sure what happened, but things didn't turn out quite like the photo in the magazine. After waiting an hour for the cake to cool down, I turned it over to take it out of the tube pan, whereupon it immediately dropped and flopped!

It tastes okay (anything with sweetened cream cheese stands a really good chance of tasting good), but the texture of the cake is odd. More like a super-moist muffin than a cake. I usually climb back on the horse right after making a dud, but I dunno if this one is worth trying again. Oh well, learning to cook well involves eating a lot of your own mistakes...and I am a little tired of eating this one!

David takes all responsibility for this kitchen disaster; Jill played no part beyond wide eyes, "oh my"'s, "what happened?!?!?!" and "you'll do better next time."

Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls

Saw this recipe for Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls on one of my favorite blogs, moneysavingmom.com and decided to give it a try. I recently got a bread maker so I was excited about this one. It was super easy and they were delicious! I will surely be making these again!

Bread Machine Cinnamon Rolls

Dough:
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm milk
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 egg, lightly beaten plus 2 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
4 cups flour (Add a bit more if dough seems too wet after first few minutes of kneading in the bread machine.)
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons bread machine yeast

Filling (I doubled this since we like our filling, oh yes we do!):
2 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup brown sugar mixed with 1 tablespoon cinnamon

Icing:
1 teaspoon milk
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
4 tablespoons (or less) butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla

Put the dough ingredients in the bread machine in the order listed and run on the dough cycle. After the dough cycle is finished, roll the dough into a large rectangle and spread it with 2 Tablespoons melted butter and 2/3 cup brown sugar mixed with 1 Tablespoon cinnamon.

Roll up and cut into 10-15 rolls and place in two greased round cake pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes or until browned. Spread the icing on as soon as they come out of the oven.

You can also cover the unbaked rolls with plastic wrap, stick them in the refrigerator overnight, and then bake in the morning. We made two pans ate one and froze the other.

Savory Puff Pastry Pie

Cook’s Country (Feb/March 2010 had an interesting recipe for something they called “Michigan Pasties” which looked interesting, though the name was a little ribald for my taste. We tried the recipe as is; they were just okay. They would have been better, but they burned a bit. I should have checked them five minutes before the minimum stated cooking time. But they had potential and inspiration struck when I thought of several left-behind puff pastries from a holiday dinner. So here is my variation that is much superior to the original.

ingredients

2 Puff Pastry sheets
1 onion chopped fine
1/2 lb ground pork sausage
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 cup ap flour
2 cups leftover beef roast*
1 cup leftover roast gravy
salt and pepper
1 egg beaten

*We had leftover braised brisket, and it was incredibly good. However, I believe this would work well with chuck roast or any other good pot roast.

directions

1. Shred the meat if it is not yet.

2. Saute the onions until softened. Add the ground pork and cook till just done. Add spices and cook till aromatic. Stir in flour and cook about 30 seconds. Add gravy, meat and any vegetables that were in the pot roast; cook until quite thick. Set aside to cool.

3. Heat oven to 450. Line sheet pan with parchment paper.

4. Spread out puff pastry on a flour-dusted board (be certain to take it out of freezer 20-30 minutes before attempting to unfold it) and roll it out to approximately 10″x20″. Cut in half to make two 10″x10″ sheets. Spoon about 1/4 of meat mixture on center of each piece, leaving about a 1″ border. Moisten edges with egg wash. Fold and crimp edges. Brush tops with egg wash and slash several times to let steam out.

5. Bake 20-25 minutes. Let cool five-ten minutes before serving.

variation

1/2 lb ground pork sausage
1/2 onion chopped
1/4 cup mozzarella or monterey cheese
1/4 cup flour
1 cup milk

1. Cook onions till softened. Add the ground pork and cook till no longer pink. Stir in flour and cook till juices are absorbed and flour becomes a thick paste. Pour in milk and cook till thickened (it will be quite thick).

2. Remove from heat and cool to room temp. Stir in cheese.

Use this as an alternate meat mix.

and the result

This is an outstanding meal to use up leftovers! We will be making this many times in the future. This went great with a salad.

Overnight Bbq Brisket

Beef brisket is among the wonderful cuts of affordable meat. In our area, Walmart has packer cuts for about $1.86/lb. Two different muscles make up the full brisket with the smaller and thicker point lying on top of the longer flat cut. The packer cut includes both muscles and is usually cryovaced from the meat wholesaler. A huge piece of meat; smaller packers run 13lbs. Since the grocer does nothing more than toss it into the meat case, this is a tremendous bargain compared to the trimmed cuts that run 2-6lbs and cost $4+/lb. Ridiculous! Just buy the whole deal, sharpen up a good chefs knife and cut the size you need. Wrapped properly the remainder will freeze fine till needed for another meal.

Brisket is the bbq meat of choice for Texans. After smoking one up last summer, it is clear why. Incredible beefy flavor! Unfortunately, it is sometimes a wee bit too chilly to smoke outside, so here is a recipe to bring it inside. The original recipe is from Erin Kornu's family. Erin is a Texan by birth and a classical teacher at Aubrey's school by choice.

Directions
Preheat oven to 450
In a small bowl mix the following:
- 1 bottle of your favorite basic bbq sauce
- 2 tblsp liquid smoke
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
Place 5-6lb brisket in oven bag. Pour mix over brisket. Place the bag in a pan or pyrex dish. Reduce heat to 275 and bake for 2 hours. Reduce heat further to 225 and bake overnight (another 6 hours). Slice or shred and enjoy!

Our Adaptations
Liquid smoke would have been great but we didn't have any, and Nashville was paralyzed by 4" of snow, so we skipped going out for it. We added a thinly sliced onion and about 2 tsp Worchestire sauce to the bbq sauce. By the way, just go with a basic sauce and avoid the weird variations that are plaguing grocery shelves these days. We added a light rub of steak seasoning to the brisket before saucing.
We also did not have an oven bag, so we just stirred up the bbq mix in the bottom of a large (10x14) pyrex dish and sealed it tightly with heavy-duty foil.

Brisket gives off a surprising quantity of great juices. We simmered the juices and sauce for a while to reduce, and then used the immersion blender to puree the onions.

Verdict?
Simple, simple recipe and really effective. Hearty flavor, tender beef. Add some of the sauce to the brisket to keep it moist, and use the remainder on the side at the table. Makes a great bbq sandwich.

Tuscan Chicken Simmer

Once again, Kraftfoods.com is my friend. Not my onlyfriend mind you, but becoming a very faithful one, none-the-less.

what you need:
4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 lb.)
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, cubed
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup pesto
2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes
1 cup KRAFT Finely Shredded Italian* Five Cheese Blend

make it:
HEAT large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cover. Cook 5 to 7 min. on each side or until done (165ºF). Remove chicken from skillet; cover to keep warm.

ADD cream cheese, water, pesto and tomatoes to skillet. Cook, uncovered, on medium heat 2 min. or until heated through, stirring occasionally.

My chicken didn't have any color to it when it reached the finished temp, so I left it in longer. Next time I won't use a non-stick skillet because the chicken dried out when I left it in to brown. Live and learn!

Easy-pleasy Sticky Buns

(adapted from Ina Garten-Food Network)

Ingredients
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup nuts, chopped in very large pieces
1/4 tsp salt
1 package (17.3-ounces/ 2-sheets) frozen puff pastry, defrosted
For the filling:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3/4 cup Cinnamon sugar mix (appr. 1/2 cup light brown sugar, 1/4 cup granulated sugar,and 1 tblsp cinnamon. These measurements are very much estimated. Just mix it till it looks and tastes right. If it tastes good 'raw,' it will taste great baked or on toast, etc.)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place a 12-cup standard muffin tin on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the 12 tablespoons butter and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Place 1 rounded tablespoon of the mixture in each of the 12 muffin cups. Distribute the nuts evenly among the 12 muffin cups on top of the butter and sugar mixture.

Unfold onto a floured surface 1 sheet of puff pastry with the folds going left to right. Brush the whole sheet with the melted butter. Leaving a 1/2 inch border on one long edge of the puff pastry, sprinkle each sheet with half the cinnamon sugar recipe. Starting with the end nearest you, roll the pastry up snugly like a jelly roll around the filling, finishing the roll with the seam side down. Slice the roll in 6 equal pieces, each about 1 1/2 inches wide. Lightly press each piece, spiral side up, in 6 of the muffin cups. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry to make 12 sticky buns.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the sticky buns are golden to dark brown on top and firm to the touch. Be careful - they're hot! Allow to cool for 5 minutes only, invert the buns onto the parchment paper (ease the filling and nuts out onto the buns with a spoon) and cool completely.

Comments
The original recipe calls for raisins in the buns with the cinnamon sugar. It also called for pecans, but we were out, so I used a variety of salted nuts-mostly peanuts. It tasted fine, but faintly reminded us of peanut brittle. Pecans or walnuts would be better.

These sticky buns are incredibly sweet, almost too much. If you have a family history of diabetes, you might want to avoid this one! However, the puff pastry makes for a really flaky roll. Needless to say, it is much easier to just unfold the puff pastry rather than having to make the dough. Overall this is a recipe worth repeating occasionally.

Michelle's Week 3: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

I got the urge to bake yesterday while the boys were napping. I also got thinking about my opportunities this week to make my recipe of the week and they were very limited as we have a lot going on this weekend. So I decided I was going to satisfy my urge to bake and my desire to try a new recipe each week at one time.  I surfed the web and found this recipe by Martha Stewart and let me tell you it is AMAZING. ( I did substitute 1/2 cup of walnuts for the 1 cup of salted peanuts that were called for.)The batter is pure bliss and the cookies are delicious too!! This is for sure a keeper.

Michelle's Week 2 Slow Cooker Chinese Lemon Chicken GONE TERRIBLE

I saw this recipe and thought it would be easy and yummy and I was sadly mistaken. Don't try this at home. :) It was not even photo worthy.
So I regrouped and made this super delicious slab apple pie. Who doesn't like apple pie especially when its served warm with ice cream! You can even make each layer and freeze them separately in ziploc bags ready to assemble and bake at your convenience. It was SO good!

Crust

1 cup flour
1/2 cup butter or margarine, cut into chunks
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-2 Tablespoons cold water

In medium bowl, combine flour, 1/2 cup butter and salt with a pastry blender, or two knives held together. Kids can do this with a fork if that is easier. Work these ingredients together until they form pea-sized crumbs. Quickly stir in cold water and combine until a dough forms. Pat into a pie plate, pushing the dough thin and up the sides.

Filling & Topping

6 apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 cup flour
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 375°. Prepare pie crust according to directions and pat it into the bottom of a 9×13 pan. In large mixing bowl, combine apple slices, sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon. Spread in an even layer over crust. In food processor, combine flour, butter, and brown sugar, pulsing until coarse crumbs are formed, or in a large mixing bowl, combine these ingredients, cutting butter into sugar and flour with a pastry blender or two knives held together. Stir in nuts. Sprinkle crumb top over apple layer.* Bake for 45 minutes to an hour or until filling bubbles. Cool completely.

If preparing ahead of time to freeze. Wrap with foil and label at the *. Then, when ready to serve, bake frozen pie at 425° for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 375° and continue baking as directed.

Chicken Parmesan Bundles

Another hit from kraftfoods.com. Everyone cleaned their plates on this one! I didn't advertise the fact that it was spinach to the kids, and they ate it better than I had hoped (sometimes ya never know!).

What you need:
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened (I used Neufchatel)
1 pkg. (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well drained (I used a partial 14 oz. can as my WalMart didn't have frozen in stock when I was getting supplies.)
1-1/4 cups KRAFT Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese, divided
6 Tbsp. KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided
6 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1-1/2 lb.), pounded to 1/4-inch thickness (Do this in a ziploc bag...I had chicken goo flying as I pounded.)
1 egg
10 RITZ Crackers, crushed (about 1/2 cup)
1-1/2 cups spaghetti sauce, heated


make it:

HEAT oven to 375ºF. Mix cream cheese, spinach, 1 cup mozzarella and 3 Tbsp. Parmesan until well blended; spread onto chicken breasts. Starting at one short end of each breast, roll up chicken tightly. Secure with wooden toothpicks, if desired. Set aside.

BEAT egg in shallow dish. Mix remaining Parmesan and cracker crumbs in separate shallow dish. Dip chicken bundles in egg, then roll in crumb mixture. Place, seam-sides down, in 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.

BAKE 30 min. or until chicken is done (165ºF). Remove and discard toothpicks, if using. Serve topped with spaghetti sauce and remaining mozzarella.

Potato Soup

Well, I'm a bit late posting, but better late than never. My first recipe was one I've wanted to do for a while, and just finally got around to it. I decided to do a variation to this recipe for potato soup.

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups peeled and diced potatoes
1/3 cup diced celery
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
6 slices diced cooked bacon
3 1/4 cups water
2 vegetable bouillon cubes
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon ground white or black pepper, or to taste
5 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk

Instructions

Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.
In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.
Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. Serve immediately.

Tuna Patties

(Pretty obvious that I'm not "JAcreative," but I did the best I could!!) Found this recipe at kraftfoods.com. For some reason the ratings box was covering the "how to" section, so I googled the ingredients and found the how to steps from another site. I think we'll be keeping it in the go-to file.

What you need:
2 cans (6 oz. each) light tuna in water, drained, flaked
1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken (I ground the mix until large chunks were minimal.)
1 cup KRAFT Shredded Mild Cheddar Cheese
3/4 cup water
1 carrot, shredded
1/3 cup KRAFT Real Mayo Mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. CLAUSSEN Sweet Pickle Relish

Combine all ingredients and form into patties. (I got 8 patties [1 I halved for the girls] out of this amount.)
Chill patties in fridge for at least 10 minutes. Place patties on a Warm greased skillet. Cook @ 3 minutes per side, until golden brown on each side.

We garnished with a dollop of sour cream.

Crazy Easy Chicken Pot Pie

This is quick and easy comfort food at its best.

2 cans Crescent Rolls
2 cups Chicken, cooked, chopped/diced
Your choice of veggies, as many as you like [we love to combine broccoli (frozen), peas (frozen), carrots (canned, drained), and mushrooms (canned, drained)]
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1 can Cream of Celery soup
1 cup Sour Cream

Butter 9"x13" baking dish (the deeper the dish, the more goodies you can pack in). Roll out 1 can crescent rolls in the bottom of dish. Layer chicken then vegetables. Mix soups and sour cream together, then pour over chicken and veggies. Roll out second can of crescent rolls and place over top of casserole. I try to pinch the edges of the bottom and top crescent roll layers together as possible.

Bake at 350 for 30 to 40 minutes.

Enjoy!

Week 1 - Breaded Tilapia with Black Bean Salsa

So, I wanted to try some more seafood recipes and I happened on this one on kraftfoods.com. I modified the recipe slightly to accommodate 3 & 1 year old sons.

Ingredients

1 cup Club or Ritz Crackers, finely crushed
4 tilapia fillets (1 lb)
3 Tbsp Mayo
2 Tbsp oil
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, rinsed
10-15 cherry tomatoes, quartered
3 green onions, sliced
1 Tbsp Lime juice

Instructions

Place cracker crumbs in pie plate. Brush fish with 3 Tbsp. mayo. Dip fish in crumbs, turning to evenly coat both sides of each fillet.

Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add fish, in batches; cook 3 min. on each side or until fish is golden brown on both sides and flakes easily with fork. Remove from skillet; cover to keep warm. Meanwhile, combine remaining ingredients.

Top with bean mixture & Serve.