Chipotle Chicken Quesadillas

May 19, 2014 December 16, 2019

Summer is coming to Ohio. We think. Today we’re wearing jackets, but we’ve had a few warm days as teasers and the forecast looks promising.

These quesadillas are great for summer for 2 reasons: 1. They’re quick (summers seem busier, less time cooking) 2. They don’t use the oven.

These quesadillas are great year-round for 2 reasons too: 1. They’re easy. 2. They’re so good.

Sometimes when we have Grilled Chicken Breast Salad, I purposely have Shannon grill a couple more pieces of chicken than we’ll need. When I’m cleaning up after the meal, I chunk up the leftover chicken and put it in the freezer for such a time as this: Chipotle Chicken Quesadilla night.

chicken quesadillas

This is not a recipe from anywhere, it’s just a thrown together dish.

This is a good walk-into-the-kitchen-30-minutes-before-mealtime-thinking-“what-can-I-make-QUICKLY” option.

So, get out your frying pan and start heating it up, I set mine to 300 degrees, which would probably be medium-low on a stovetop. Get out the sour cream, frozen chicken chunks, tortillas, can of black beans, and shredded cheese. Put the chicken in the microwave for 1 min to thaw. Put a bit of olive oil in the frying pan, add the chicken, and sprinkle with chipotle seasoning. Fry and stir a couple times.
chicken quesadillas browning meat

While that’s frying, get the other stuff ready… Butter 1 side of each tortilla, drain the beans, open the sour cream and cheese.

Take the chicken out of the pan. Put 2 tortillas in the pan, butter side down. Smear with sour cream. Add chicken, beans, and cheese.
chicken quesadillas sour cream beans

chicken quesadillas sour cream beans cheese

Put the other tortilla, butter side up, on top.
chicken quesadillas frying

I didn’t time how long to fry it before flipping, I just waited til the bottom tortilla was nicely browned and the cheese started melting a bit. Flip quickly, but gently, if that makes sense. If you flip quickly and wildly, you may have beans and chicken chunks hitting the ceiling.
chicken quesadillas fried

After the second side is fried, put on a plate and cut into fourths with a pizza cutter. Top with sour cream and salsa.

For sides, I serve extra tortilla chips & salsa and applesauce.

I make four quesadillas total (only 2 fit in the pan at a time) and I tried something different for the second batch… Instead of layering, mix the sour cream, chicken, beans, and cheese together. Put 2 tortillas in the pan, divide the mixture between them, spread it out, and put the other tortilla on top. Either way works great and tastes the same.
chicken quesadilla

Now, for a bit of a concise recipe that doesn’t have pictures mixed in, in case you want to copy and paste it somewhere. These measurements will be very estimated because I never measure them and the chicken amount varies with how much leftover there is at the moment.

Chipotle Chicken Quesadillas …add or subtract to your liking

2 cups of chicken, chunked
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. chipotle seasoning
3/4 cup sour cream, plus extra for garnish
1 can black beans, drained
2 cups shredded cheese
8 tortillas, each buttered on one side

If chicken chunks are frozen, thaw in microwave for 1 min. Heat electric frying pan to 300 degrees or medium-low for stovetop. Sprinkle seasoning over chicken and fry in olive oil for several minutes, stirring now and then. Take chicken out and put 2 tortillas in, buttered side down. Put 1/4 of the sour cream, chicken, beans, and cheese on each tortilla OR mix those 4 ingredients together and spread 1/4 of the mixture on each tortilla. Fry for several minutes, flip gently, and fry the other side. Put on a plate, cut into fourths with pizza cutter, and garnish with sour cream and salsa. Round out the meal with tortilla chips, extra salsa, and applesauce. And dinner is served!

Summer, we love you and welcome you! Please come and stay for awhile!

Chicken and Turkey, Main Dishes

Chipotle in a Bowl

January 24, 2014 December 16, 2019

Posted on January 24, 2014
Filed Under Chicken and Turkey, Main dishes

chipotle in a bowl serving

This is one of my favorite foods at the moment. I’m not even sure why I like it so good. I mean, it’s basically just rice, beans, and chicken, which doesn’t sound all that exciting. But man, it is so GOOD!!! It must be the cumin. Or cilantro. I don’t know, but I just had it yesterday and I’m craving it again. I wonder how many days in a row I could eat it before I’d get tired of it.

So, please make it.

Don’t let the list of spices, herbs and steps make it look daunting.

I’ll be honest, it is kind of time-consuming to make. But all casseroles and soups are. ……..When I say that sentence in a conversation, it’s like I want to ask myself “Did I yell that? Or why did everyone perk up and half the people are wildly talking over each other disagreeing with me?” Every time I say that, people come up for air defending it because “casseroles are so quick” and “just throw together a soup”. It will forever be a mystery to me why I seem to always be standing alone on the casseroles-and-soups-are-more-time-consuming island. I just realized that I’m off on a bunny trail here, but I’ll follow it a bit more and tell you why I feel the way I do… in case you’re coming up for air too. ????
There are so many steps to all-in-one dishes… you fry the meat, you cook the noodles, you chop the veggies, you sauté them, you make and thicken sauce. You mix it together, add more things, and then you still have to bake it, stir it, or cook it.
When it’s all separate, you bake/fry/cook it, and then it’s done and ready to put on the table.
Maybe I’m a bit biased because I prefer to cook the “separate” way, partly because that’s how I grew up, partly because Shannon often grills the meat if it’s separate, partly because I’m always stumped about what to put on for side dishes because all the food groups are in the main dish, and partly because you can taste each food better. Ok, let’s bring this bunny trail back over to the main trail again.

I’m just sitting here wondering why I’m putting a plug in for “meat & potatoes” meals when what I’m posting is an all-in-one meal! Ha.

Yesterday when I made Chipotle in a Bowl, it seemed to go extra fast because… 4 of my friends were sitting on bar stools around my island (the one in my kitchen, not the opinion one up there that I stand alone on ) and we were all chatting the morning away with cups of coffee. I wish they’d come sit around my island every time I’m cooking. It takes something already enjoyable… cooking … and makes it even more enjoyable… cooking with friends and coffee! ????

Chipotle in a Bowl …from the cookbook Simple & Satisfying

CHICKEN:
1 1/2 lbs chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
1 1/2 tsp. oregano
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. paprika
Marinade chicken in seasonings for at least 4 hours. Fry in oil until done.

RICE:
2 Tbsp. oil
2 cups rice
1 c. chopped onion ( I go a little easy on this.)
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. chicken soup base
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 – 2 Tbsp. cilantro, fresh is best
4 cups water
Fry rice and onion in oil, then add remaining ingredients. Simmer until rice is soft. I’ve never timed this, I’d say it’s about 1/2 hour. I just go by when the water is gone.

BEANS:
2 cups cooked black beans (I use canned. A couple of my friends say dry ones that you soak yourself are better. I want to try that next time.)
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 Tbsp. chili powder
3/4 tsp. lemon pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1 – 2 Tbsp. cilantro
Simmer bean ingredients together for 10 minutes.

TOPPINGS:
2 cups sour cream
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I use Mexican blend.)
Lettuce
Tomatoes or salsa
Ranch dressing

Put rice in a greased casserole dish, then top with black beans and chicken. Spread sour cream over chicken and top with cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Serve with remaining toppings.

This recipe is great as is. The only thing I’m going to try changing sometime is using only half the rice. I think it’s a bit of an overkill for how little chicken is in the recipe, even though I really like rice.

We all love this. It’s just bursting with flavor and it’s not too spicy for the kids.

Comments

8 Responses to “Chipotle in a Bowl”

Arla on January 24th, 2014 7:28 pm

I’m with you, Kay. Casseroles are complicated and time consuming…I mean unless you get your kicks out of food prep. What is easier than plain old meat and taters?
Charlotte Graber on January 24th, 2014 10:44 pm

Yes, casseroles are time consuming. This recipe looks easy though. I’m on the lookout for new recipes and gonna try this one.
Kay on January 25th, 2014 10:29 am

Ahhhh, I guess I’m not alone on the island after all!
Sharon on January 25th, 2014 10:51 am

The thing about casseroles is they can be mostly done ahead of time–all the prep work is beforehand, instead of juggling several things at the last minute. Maybe that tricks some people into thinking they are fast? This recipe looks so good! We do a similar thing with taco meat instead of chicken & just plain cooked rice, but these spices and seasonings with chicken sound amazing. On the list to try. (when I have time )
Liz on January 30th, 2014 11:55 pm

It sounds good. This does have more things to make before you put it together. I like make ahead things sometimes so that it’s not so much at the last minute. But meatballs and some kind of cut up potatoes work for doing ahead too. Plus loads of other recipes.
Jo Hershey on February 3rd, 2014 7:01 pm

This looks like something that could become a favorite around here! I like soups & casseroles if they can be made ahead of time but I agree, a lot of work. And dishes.
Sheila on February 10th, 2014 6:00 pm

I’m with you on casseroles and soups not being a quick meal. And, like Jo said, they make alot of dishes! Of course, the dirty dishes aren’t as much of an issue now that I have a dishwasher. This looks like a recipe I would love! I’m going to have to try it sometime.
Shannon on February 14th, 2014 10:26 pm

Oh that yumminess again. I’ll come sit and sip anytime you want to cook!

Chicken and Turkey

Southern Fried Chicken

November 13, 2013 December 12, 2019

Southern Fried Chicken

Posted on November 13, 2013
Filed Under Chicken and Turkey

You know how certain words make your mind immediately go somewhere? Well, Southern Fried Chicken does that to me. I picture a diner in the south with a comfy waitress who reminds me of Grandma and calls all her customers “Honey” and has a smile that warms the entire place and makes you want to come back again. Right after that, I think of my friends in Macon, MS. Yep, I think of you guys instead of FL or anywhere else in the south.

Here was our menu for supper.

This chicken recipe is kind of a concoction of different recipes and things I’ve heard/learned. So, I’ll just write it all in one concise recipe and you can change it up even more if you want.

Southern Fried Chicken
2 lbs chicken breast cut into strips (they fry faster if you cut em up, I cut each piece into about 3 pieces)
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. paprika
Light olive oil …Yeah, I’m serious, olive oil. It’s healthier and it keeps the chicken from being too greasy. Just make sure it says light-tasting on it.

A few hours before supper, put the chicken breast and buttermilk in a big Ziploc bag. Mix it around a bit to make sure all sides of all the pieces have been coated in the buttermilk. Put the bag in the fridge.
Dump oil in an electric skillet and turn to 350 to get it to heating. Mix the flour and seasonings in a bowl. Take the pieces out of the buttermilk bag and coat them in the flour mixture.

When the light goes off on the skillet, put in a few pieces. Don’t put too many in at a time or the temperature of the oil will go down too low and oil will soak into the chicken. Fry 4 minutes on each side or until the internal temp is 170.

Transfer them to a paper-towel-covered plate to drain. To keep the first batch(es) hot while you’re finishing frying, you can put them in a warm oven. I only had 2 batches, so I just stacked them together after they had drained and then covered them. They stayed nice and hot.

We ate them with BBQ sauce and Ranch dressing… not at the same time. But just now that I’m thinking about it, I think I’ve heard that those 2 mixed makes a really good sauce. I’ll have to remember that next time. Honey mustard is another good option.

This meal was on the table in about 1/2 hour from walking into the kitchen. Well, the pie was made ahead of time. Lexi (she’s 10 now) started on the chicken flouring while I mixed up the biscuits. Then I started frying while the girls (yes, all 3) cut the biscuits… can you say “flour on the ceiling”? Just kidding, but there was definitely some on the floor. And the green beans were easy, just cooked and seasoned.

Finger lickin’ good!! I know, I know, that’s so cliché. Here’s something not cliché: Go make ’em! ????

Comments

2 Responses to “Southern Fried Chicken”

Shannon on February 14th, 2014 10:07 pm

I have never put the chicken in the buttermilk for that long before. I’m gonna have to try it sometime. I like to buy the chicken tenders when I fry or grill them.
Kay on February 18th, 2014 11:38 am

Smart. Buying chicken tenders instead of cutting up chicken breasts. Why didn’t I think of that?!

Chicken and Turkey, Easy Meals, Grilling

Grilled Chicken Breast Salad

July 14, 2011 December 19, 2019

Being a mom and having guilt go together like pancakes and syrup. It just goes with the turf. You wake up in the morning and right away you can think of things to feel guilty about. I should spend more time… I should not have gotten upset when… I shouldn’t have let them… Maybe we should give them… I should be getting up, what with the baby yelling for me from her crib and all…

If you get that first paragraph, then you know what I mean when I say how it makes you feel when your children make good choices… despite all your mistakes, something is getting through.

Well, here’s my little triumph in the food dept… my girls count Grilled Chicken Breast Salad as one of their favorite meals. We have it at least every other week. It’s hard to get a healthier meal than this, really… fresh veggies, hard-boiled egg, lowfat mozzarella cheese, some croutons, and grilled (not breaded or deep-fried) chicken breast. In the tortured mental games that I sometimes put myself through, them liking salad seems like it, in some way, compensates for the times I say yes to ANOTHER piece of candy or that lazy Saturday when we had ice cream cones for breakfast (hypothetically speaking, of course, not like any responsible parent would ever actually allow that, or do it herself), or those times when I let the girls fend for themselves for lunch and it’s anything but a square meal, a triangle meal at best.

Chicken Breast Salad

I’ll show you how a meal that involves grilling is a joint effort for us… I’ll color code it just to humor myself.

Shannon’s 1st job: Starting the grill, either charcoal or gas. This particular time, he used gas because it gets ready faster.

My 1st job: Thawing the chicken breast. Here’s how I do it. It goes from freezer to thawed in 5 minutes… which is good news to any of you who don’t always plan ahead and don’t get the meat out the night before to begin thawing!

Take this out of the freezer:

Put the frozen chicken pieces out on a dinner plate.

Put the plate in the microwave on High for 1 minute. Flip the pieces, reposition them so what was on the outside is now on the inside, and if one was on top, don’t put it on top the next round… in general just move them around at random.

Repeat that step 4 more times. If we’re having rolls or breadsticks to go with it, during those minute intervals is when I’d be getting them in the oven. Trim off some fat and drain off the juice. Your plate of chicken breasts should look like this, thawed and ready to hand over to the master of the grill.

He seasons them with Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Blackened Steak Magic seasoning. You can season more boldly when it’s going on a salad than if you’d be eating the meat by itself. If you notice the 2 small ones with little seasoning, those are the ones the girls will eat. Their tastebuds seem to not be mature enough yet to handle the extra kick, so theirs get only Lawry’s Seasoned Salt and I think Shannon might sprinkle some Lawry’s on ours too. And then he puts them on the grill.

Meanwhile, I’m making salads…
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Mushrooms
Hard-boiled eggs
Shredded cheese
Croutons
Whatever else you want or have on hand like Carrots, Bacon, Italian seasoning, whatever. And they don’t all need to be the same… personalize them to each person’s taste.

Looks kinda refreshing on a hot day, huh?

Meanwhile, the chicken is on the grill. I left my salad-making and followed Shannon out to the grill when he went out to flip them…

Those of you who want to make this salad, I hope you sorta know how to grill chicken breast because when I asked Shannon what he did and how and time on the grill and stuff, I got very sketchy details, but I also got some great tips.

For example, I asked how long they were on before he flipped them and he didn’t know. He said you need to be on the edge of your comfort zone with it, though, and not overdo it. He said alot of people freak out about making sure chicken is done and then end up with dry rubbery chicken. You want it so it’s just so done, not pink anymore, and juicy. So, of course, I asked how to know when that is and he said, “You just go by instinct.”

So, yeah, good luck with that.

You could use a meat fork thermometer. Shannon used to have one, but hasn’t for quite awhile because, uhhhh, one time yours truly immersed it in water because the handle was messy and, you know, of course one time of immersion wouldn’t matter… famous last words. Yet, grilled chicken breast around here always ends up being perfect… done, but still juicy.

My only job left is to get out the cutting board and the knife… HIS knife, I should say. Yeah, we each have our own knife this size and we each think our own is THE best. Sometime, I should put them both on here and take a poll. I’ll best mine would win because, if for no other reason… it has a case! ????

Soon, he brings the chicken in, slices it,

and places it on top of the salads.

Zig-zag some Ranch dressing over it…

And dig in!

You don’t think this salad is so healthy that it could actually take away those cavities caused by the extra pieces of candy, do you?

Comments

11 Responses to “Grilled Chicken Breast Salad”

Amy Burkey on July 14th, 2011 3:32 pm

I now know what I’m having for supper! Thank you!
joe on July 14th, 2011 4:31 pm

you need to coordinate ur posts to the days that i’m cooking!!!!
Jolene on July 14th, 2011 4:54 pm

Oh that looks GOOD!
Rosalyn on July 14th, 2011 4:55 pm

sounds wonderful. I’m sure it would be a hit in our household, too!
Kay on July 14th, 2011 7:22 pm

Amy and Jolene, you can’t go wrong with this, esp in the summer! ????

Joe, sure, no problem, ha. I’m sure you wouldn’t need a post, though, for grilling days… you could probably add some tips to this one!

Rosalyn, this just became a hit with my girls a year or so ago. Before when we’d make it, they’d just eat the chicken plain or with Ranch and then have a breadstick and piece of cheese on the side. Last summer sometime, they both decided to like salad. ????
Twila on July 14th, 2011 10:35 pm

Looks quite tasty! I grill alot of chicken breast and usually do it about 8 minutes per side. Of course that might depend on how hot the grill is, the thickness of the chicken etc. It usually turns out about right though. If I have a thicker piece I’ll cut it in half to make sure it’s done.
Shannon on July 14th, 2011 10:41 pm

I grilled chicken the other night and we had left overs. Tonight we had it in a salad. I love it and am so glad my girls eat it too! This looks delicious.
Beth on July 15th, 2011 7:24 am

How well I get your first post & the mommy guilt thing. And the eating ice cream for breakfast thing. Well, pretty much just everything you said in there! Love the mixture of humor & actual recipe in this post. Like the humoring yourself with color coding. cracks me up! And I also love the step-by-step process you went through, right down to getting the knife out. This salad looks to.die.for. YUMMY. Shannon gets a boo though for not telling me how long to grill chicken. lol I am an awful griller, because my instincts usually make grilled food turn out burned or pink. But I can just hear him say that’s not his problem. No, really. I doubt if he’d tell me, but I betcha he’d think it. Anyway, enjoyed the post (as if you didn’t know that already). I need better smile faces for this! ????
Kay on July 15th, 2011 9:18 am

Twila, thanks for the 8-minute tidbit. Shannon did say that too, about it always being different because of grill heat and thickness. Times like this is when I’m glad for the understanding at our house that I don’t touch the grill… grill = guessing games.

Shannon, I often use our chicken salad leftovers for chicken and cheese quesadillas… so there’s an idea if you have leftover leftovers. ????

Beth, glad you get me, ice cream thing and all. ???? Yeah, so Shannon would probably say that, so just read what Twila said, and cut one apart so you can see if it’s still pink or not. Or make Rod grill.
Liz on July 16th, 2011 4:16 pm

Ha, ice cream for breakfast? It’s all right as long as it’s a late breakfast and after 10. At least going by some people. Of course, some of those people also don’t like chocolate as much as we do either so maybe their advice shouldn’t be taken too seriously?
I wish that you it would be easier to compensate for bad decisions. I think if I drink 2 glasses of water than that should cancel out the chocolate that ate. Or something easier like that.
Michelle on July 16th, 2011 8:58 pm

yumMY!

Chicken and Turkey

Turkey Schnitzel

December 16, 2009 December 12, 2019

Posted on December 16, 2009
Filed Under Chicken and Turkey

Don’t you just love the sound of that? Schnitzel. Makes me feel like I’m cooking authentic German food. It’s really good. I’ll give you a brief description and see if you think you’d agree… pieces of turkey breast dipped in milk, then flour, then eggs, then seasoned bread crumbs, then fried in oil and butter. Mmmmmm!

My mom gave me this recipe, including the ingredients. She does that for birthdays. I love it! She shares my love for trying new recipes, but she’s also got a bunch of tried and true ones.

Turkey Schnitzel

Printable recipe coming soon

1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 lb. turkey slices (1/4″ thick) or strips
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. canola oil

Mom gave me this with the recipe.

It’s some GOOD stuff, but I wonder if she knows that things like this are way out of my comfort zone! ????

I think the only chunk of meat I’ve ever bought with a bone in it is ham. Oh wait, sometimes I get a rotisserrie chicken at the deli, but that’s easy, all I have to do is reheat it. I’ve never even done a turkey at Thanksgiving! This turkey breast is supposed to be cut into slices or strips. Well, I got various sizes and shapes of pieces!

Place first 4 ingredients in 4 separate bowls.

Dip turkey slices or strips into milk, then flour, then eggs, then bread crumbs. Place on waxed paper and let stand for 5-10 min. I was out of waxed paper, so I just used plastic wrap.

Heat butter and oil in large skillet. Brown turkey for 2 minutes on each side or until juices run clear.

Serves 4. In Germany and Austria, schnitzels are served with French fries and lemon wedges (to squeeze on meat).

The meat stayed really moist. And it had a great flavor! Because you can quick fry it up, it’s one of those quick things to make for when you’re staring in the fridge/freezer/cupboards at 4:30 p.m., totally blank for a supper idea. Mom said she even tried it with just the bread crumbs (without dipping it in milk, flour, and eggs) when she was in a hurry and that was good too. It would be good with chicken breast too, I’m sure, although I’ve never tried it, having only made it this once… so far anyway. ???? So, with these variation ideas, the question would be: Would it still be schnitzel then? We sure don’t want to lose that word!

Coming before Christmas yet: Cranberry Salad and Fudge. That is 2 separate recipes, by the way. ????

Comments

6 Responses to “Turkey Schnitzel”

Elsie on December 16th, 2009 8:41 pm

Sounds good!
The word schnitzel sounds like a swiss word meaning pieces. Makes me wonder, maybe I should ask one of my Aunts!
Mom on December 17th, 2009 2:21 pm

Hey, Jenny was supposed to slice up this whole turkey breast, and get it in the freezer in nice quick cooking-friendly packs while she was there. She must have forgotten to tell you!! The children called these fingers – for if you change the recipe too much to keep the schnitzel in there!
Kay on December 17th, 2009 2:55 pm

Ha, no, Mom, she told me and I said, “Nah! I can do it!” Then, when it actually came down to doing it, I was feeling a bit out of my comfort zone! It was of course fine, I just didn’t get it sliced very evenly.

Btw, that was a big chunk of meat, I think we’ll get 2 more meals out of it! Thanks!
Jan on January 9th, 2010 3:32 pm

There’s a schnitzel they make in Romania, but that’s with beef or pork. It’s pounded very thin, then fried about the same way. It is also very good. I’ll have to try it with turkey, but I never have turkey on hand.
yoana on February 28th, 2010 3:38 am

hello…i found your blog a few days ago…i tried out the recipe for turkish schnitzel and turned out not only to taste great but also to make my friends gealous for it..kisses from romania and keep out the good job your doing with the blog..i will start a new one in english with old traditional romanian recipes..
Nikki Cooks on November 19th, 2010 3:51 pm

I accidentally found your blog by accidentally finding The Best of Blogs site! And I am glad I did! Your recipes look great and definitely something a home cook, such as myself, can do and will love to do. **Adding to my favorites**

Chicken and Turkey, Cooks in Training, Desserts, Side Dishes

Supper by a 6-yr-old — Cooks in Training #9

September 22, 2009 December 12, 2019

Posted on September 22, 2009
Filed Under Chicken and Turkey, Cooks in Training, Desserts, Side dishes

Lexi made supper tonight.

Her menu was:
Crunchy Chicken Tenders
Easy Mac n Cheese
Trees with Cheese
Puddin’ Cones

There were only 4 ingredient spills. The only help Lexi accepted was finding some of the right ingredients and measuring cups/spoons and reading the recipe (“because it’s faster if you do it and I don’t know all the words”) and a couple times, handling hot stuff. I did tell her when to do stuff so it would all get done at the same time. I also gave her lots of tips and how-to’s, but she did the actual work. She did very well, actually better than I expected.

Now and then, Tiffany (3) crossed her arms, put on a scowl, and whined, “Mom, she won’t let me dump that in. I don’t have ANYTHING to do!”

I was planning to blog as it was going on, but I was kinda busy with damage control.

She loved doing this meal! I believe we have a cook in the making. ????

Crunchy Chicken Tenders … recipe from Betty Crocker Kids Cook cookbook

3/4 cup cornflakes cereal
1/2 cup flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/3 cup buttermilk or milk
1 pound uncooked chicken breast tenders, not breaded

Heat the oven to 400. Line a 9×13 pan with foil.

Spray the foil with cooking spray.
Put the cereal, flour, salt, and pepper in a plastic bag. Seal bag closed. Use a rolling pin to crush the cornflakes.
Pour the milk into a bowl. Dip chicken in milk.

Drop milk-coated chicken, a few pieces at a time, into cereal mixture. Seal bag closed. Shake bag to coat chicken with cereal mixture. Put the coated chicken in the pan.

Spray chicken with cooking spray. Throw away any leftover cereal in the bag. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until coating is crisp and chicken is no longer pink in center. Makes 4 servings.

Dishing it up…

Good stuff! We ate them with bbq sauce. I realize I didn’t get a picture of the rolling pin part… they had great fun with that!

Easy Mac and Cheese …recipe from Betty Crocker Kids Cook cookbook

Water
2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni or small pasta shells
1 Tbsp. butter or margarine
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese or American cheese
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground mustard (I had to talk her into putting mustard in!)
1/4 tsp. pepper

Fill a 3-qt saucepan about half full with water. Bring to a boil. Add pasta to water.

Heat to boiling again. Boil uncovered for 8-10 minutes, stirring often with a wooden spoon. Drain pasta (put a colander in the sink and pour the pasta into it). Put drained pasta back into saucepan. Add butter, milk, cheese, salt, mustard, and pepper to pasta.

Stir with spoon until mixed. Cook over low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring a few times, until cheese is melted. Makes 4 servings.

Dishing up. This was a bit wild! Whoosh! and it was all in the serving bowl in about 2 seconds. Pretty amazing that some didn’t land on the floor!

Trees with Trees … recipe from Betty Crocker Kids Cook cookbook

1 1/2 pounds fresh broccoli (I just had her use a bag of frozen broccoli florets.)
3 Tbsp. water
6 oz process American cheese loaf
1/3 cup milk
1/4 onion salt
1 drop red pepper sauce, if you like (she didn’t like ???? )

Microwave the broccoli and water till hot and crisp-tender. Melt the rest of the ingredients in a saucepan or microwave. Stir with a wooden spoon until the cheese is melted and mixture is smooth. Drain broccoli and put it into a serving bowl. Pour hot cheese over broccoli. Makes 6 servings. I didn’t notice it at the time, but in all the photographing, I missed the broccoli, all except the dishing it up!

Puddin’ Cones … recipe from the 2003 Quick Cooking annual cookbook

This is what sparked the whole idea of making supper. Her cousin Krista made these for dessert when she made supper one time and Lexi saw a picture and wanted to make them too. Krista, you’re her hero!

1 1/2 cups cold milk
1 pkg. (3.4 oz.) instant vanilla pudding mix
3 envelopes whipped topping mix (when Lexi read this, she said “Envelopes?! What do envelopes have to do with cooking?”)
8 cake ice cream cones (about 3 inches) She used only 6.
Chopped nuts, jimmies and miniature colored baking chips or topping of your choice

In a mixing bowl, beat milk and pudding mix on low speed for 2 minutes.

Blend in whipped topping mix; cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Spoon 1/4 cup into each cone; sprinkle with toppings. Yield: 8 servings. I just told her to fill the cones, not to measure. When the pudding mixture was gone, there were only 6 cones used, which I think is better because they look more like ice cream cones if they’re heaped a little.

These were good, altho’ not as good as real ice cream. She made them right before she dished up the food and till we got done eating and were ready for dessert, the cones were starting to get a little soft already. So, they should not be made too much in advance!

Comments

9 Responses to “Supper by a 6-yr-old — Cooks in Training #9”

Katrina on September 22nd, 2009 7:15 pm

It all looks de-lish to me! Wow, great job daughter(s) and Mom!
Aug on September 24th, 2009 10:45 am

That is great that she is learning to cook and loving it! I think that letting them help with they are young goes a long ways towards them liking it later! And she has a great teacher to learn from, so that always helps!
Ruth on September 24th, 2009 8:37 pm

I’m impressed! She didn’t just open a box and stick it in the oven, but she made it from scratch. She did a great job. You deserve credit, too, because you let her do it even though you could have done it a lot faster and easier.
Rhonda H. on October 2nd, 2009 8:50 am

I love to see kids learning to cook – particularly since I’ve done a lousy job at teaching my own. Granted, I have 3 boys with pretty much zero interest in cooking, but it’s always good for them to know how to do the basics.
Also, I made two pans of your pumpkin cream cheese squares this week and had requests for the recipes from two different people, so I sent them links to your site. So yummy!
Marie on October 3rd, 2009 3:12 pm

She did as good of a job as anyone! I’m very impressed – looks delicious!
Stephaine @ Geezees on October 8th, 2009 12:51 pm

Wow, i am so impressed…it’s so good to see kids cooking! And everything looked so yummy!
Tilt on October 13th, 2009 3:31 am

This dinner looks amazing!
I especially love the ice creams!

Congratulation to the little chef!
Cheryl on November 7th, 2009 10:08 am

I love that your kids help out! Do they enjoy doing so? Did you ask if they wanted to be involved or did they offer? The pics are making me hungry!! Tell them great job:)
Linda on November 7th, 2009 10:02 pm

Just curious if you have come across this site http://partycupcakeideas.com. I think your girls would have fun.

Chicken and Turkey, Main Dishes

Chicken Cheese Melts

April 27, 2009 December 12, 2019

Posted on April 27, 2009
Filed Under Chicken and Turkey, Main dishes

Sometimes I feel stuck. In a rut. With cooking, that is. Well, other things too, but we’ll just stick with cooking. ????

I have a certain style of cooking and I don’t deviate from it much. I want to change that. Maybe doing some more ‘Out of my Comfort Zone’ foods would be a good idea. I don’t make stir-able casseroles. Pretty much the only all-in-one casserole type things I make are wet burritos and lasagna. Other than that, it’s sandwich-type things (like these melts) and most of the time it’s meat, potatoes/pasta, veggies, and rolls. And I pretty much use the same seasonings too. So, this evening for supper, I was browsing a cookbook for new recipes and passed up the Chinese Beef and the Sirloin Squash Shish Kabobs and landed on something ‘safer’ like Chicken Cheese Melts. I use way more chicken breast than any other meat and I never buy the dark meat unless I get a whole rotisserie chicken. Other meats I keep on hand and regularily use are ham, ground beef, beef roasts, and bacon. And that’s pretty much it. Other kinds of meat are very rare. Over the summer (think, more grilling), I buy pork chops, brats, and steaks.

Do you think I need a bit of help here with diversity? What’s your style of cooking? I’d love to hear it! Tell us in the comment section!

Meanwhile, here is a recipe using exotic ingredients like chicken breast, butter, cheese, and bread. Just kidding about the exotic part. This recipe comes from my newest cookbook, which I’ve owned for a little over 48 hours now… What’s Cookin’, compiled by the Schlabach family. Makes it more fun because I’m good friends with some of these Schlabachs. And I like seeing their names under a recipe now and then.

Chicken Cheese Melts

1 cup chicken, cooked and chunked (I used more like 1 1/2 cups, you can never go wrong with more meat ???? )
1/4 cup margarine, melted (I used butter)
1/4 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp. onion, chopped
1 Tbsp. parsley flakes
Shredded cheese

Saute onions in margarine briefly.

Mix together all ingredients.

Put on slices of French bread or any other bread. I used hamburger buns. And toasted them first.

Top with cheese.

Bake at 350 until cheese is melted. The cheese was melted after about 5 minutes, but then I turned on the broiler because I like cheese to have a bit of browning on top.

These, by the way, got rave reviews and were thrown into the ‘Yum! Make again!’ category. And they were easy and fast too, esp since I pulled chunked up fried chicken breast out of the freezer.

Now, I wanna hear about your this-is-the-norm-for-me cooking. Also, do you plan menus? I’ve seriously thought of doing that. Seems like that would eliminate the 4:00 p.m. staring in the fridge/freezer/cupboards/cookbooks for a supper idea!

Comments

15 Responses to “Chicken Cheese Melts”

Cheryl on April 27th, 2009 11:21 pm

Last week I made a Chicken Tetrazzina which was basically a chicken spaghetti. I thought it was good and I asked Dan if he liked it. His reply, “I don’t talk like that. :)”” Okay. All this to say casseroles aren’t a big hit here.
Twila on April 28th, 2009 5:27 am

I don’t really plan out menus specifically, but something that has helped me is I kind-of have certain things I make on nights of the week. For example, on Wednesday night we always have soup and some kind of bread. On Thursday nights I make some thing using chicken. Monday and Tuesday nights can vary, but usually on one of them I use ground beef, and the other one I use steak or pork chops,sometimes using the grill. Friday evening is usually something simple like grilled hamburgers and fries, or tacos. Saturday evening is always pizza. Sunday, roast beef (I have alot of meat, so for some people this might not work) Or if we have to many leftovers we eat those. (Yes,leftovers for Sunday lunch!)
This has really helped me, because usually the week before when I get my groceries I’m already thinking into the next week.
I enjoy your site, and have used quite a few of your recipes!
Wendell on April 28th, 2009 6:05 am

My normal cooking style would be hot dogs, and on a daring morning a scrambled egg, but then I am a guy with a bad case of culinary illiteracy. Though I think sometime if I really want to impress my girlfriend with a special high class meal I just might be able pull off the Chicken Cheese Melts.
Rene on April 28th, 2009 6:33 am

Those look great!! My normal mode of cooking is like you — several tried and trues that are relatively safe. I work outside the home (ugh) so many times I’m looking for something fast that will just fill the need. Right now while I’m caring for my husband 24/7 after his transplant I’m needing to cook for his eating abilities and right now that’s soft food which means lots of pasta with very mild sauces. It’s also kind of strange to only be cooking for 2.
Shannon on April 28th, 2009 6:59 am

Same old, same old here. Generally when I try something new, they turn up their noses at it unless it has the basic ingredients that I use in most everything else. I think I’ll try these soon. They look fast, easy and good!
Freida on April 28th, 2009 7:06 am

These look like my style- fast, easy, and good. I love to try new things, but my family doesn’t as much, so we try to find a balance. I stick with the basics, with a few different things stuck in every now and then.
Kelly on April 28th, 2009 7:43 am

Hi Kay!
First off, I ALWAYS meal plan. It keeps our grocery bill down, which is important for us. Every meal during the week is planned, and weekends consist of leftovers or a treat at eating out.
I blog my menus/meal plans every Monday morning, if you are looking for ideas.
I plan my menu Friday night or Saturday morning, then make a grocery list, farmer’s market list, and walmart list. Then DH goes to the grocery store, and I do farmer’s market and walmart. Honestly, most of our stuff comes from the farmers market — fresh fruit, veggies, dairy, meat, etc. Grocery store is for pantry items, and walmart for toiletries and paper products.

Since I love blogging, I try to make at least 1 new recipe per week. It can be a lunch for me at work, or a dessert for my co-workers, or a dinner, but at least 1 new recipe. That helps me incorporate new things all the time. Admittedly, sometimes they’re flops, but sometimes they’re pure deliciousness!
We eat pretty similar to you as far as meats, etc, but I just try to find new ways to eat those things.
I’ve learned I DON’T like at-home-chinese-style food. It just isn’t as good. I also don’t like most vegetarian meals, or anything with soy or tofu. So I just try to adapt the meats and veggies we already love into new things. I’ll post some of the new items I’ve made recently that were delicious to give you some ideas.

Finally, I use my vegetable steamer all the time. I steam fresh veggies and toss them with olive oil, or lemon juice, or whatever, and it makes us new, healthy sides all the time. We eat a lot of broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, potatoes, peas, etc. Pretty standard veggies!

Spicy Honey Chicken (grill recipe, so the hubby can make it!): http://kellycooksandotheramazingfeats.blogspot.com/2009/04/spicy-honey-chicken.html

“Ben-chiladas”: http://kellycooksandotheramazingfeats.blogspot.com/2009/04/ben-chiladas.html

Saucy Baked Chicken: http://kellycooksandotheramazingfeats.blogspot.com/2009/03/saucy-baked-chicken.html

Cafe Rio Pork (this one is truly amazing and delicious): http://kellycooksandotheramazingfeats.blogspot.com/2009/03/cafe-rio-pork.html

Crockpot Ranch Pork Chops: http://kellycooksandotheramazingfeats.blogspot.com/2009/03/crockpot-ranch-pork-chops.html

Southwestern Potatoes (great side!): http://kellycooksandotheramazingfeats.blogspot.com/2009/03/southwestern-potatoes.html
Aug on April 28th, 2009 10:23 am

Well, as you know, I do plan menus, kind of off and on. But it sure if nice to know what you are making that night instead of the midafternoon going through cookbooks, starting at the refrigerator, etc.

I like to try new things but I would say about 1/2 of the time they are not a hit with my family and two times lately they would hardly even eat what I made. Kind of hurt my feelings just a little, cuz I try to make things I think they will like.

I usually do my menus on a 6 week rotation and then when I am kind of tired of that 6 week menus (maybe I would do it 3 or 4 times) then I’ll make up a new one. The way that I kind of narrow down what to pick for menus is that I divide it up by the meat part of the meal and then fill in from there. Like, I plan one meal with pork, one meal with chicken, one with hamburger, one with ham slices, one breakfast meal and one no-meat meal. Like soup or english muffin pizzas, or this crock pot lasagna stuff that uses ravioli.
But recently I found that site called “Recipe Zaar” and so I’ve gotten lots of new recipes from there. I’ll just put in chicken for the ingredient, put main dishes, takes less than 60 minutes and I’ll look through what comes up.

But, if you’re “stuck in a rut” and that works out well for you and your family, then hey, whatever works. I think sometimes Jeremy would say he’d rather have me “stuck in a rut” than trying all of this new stuff. But I think, “How would I ever find these wonderful new recipes if I’m afraid to try stuff??”

By the way, do you know that Jeremy is pretty closely related to the Slabaugh’s (his Dad was Ada’s son) and that I even have some recipes in that cook book??
Melissa K on April 29th, 2009 5:25 am

Kay,
Don’t really have a “normal” cooking style. I love to try new recipes, but have a house full of very picky eaters (even my hubby!) so I’m kind of limited. I do make out a menu every week. otherwise, I can’t think of anything and we end up with sandwiches or cereal or something!!
Also, there are quite a few blogs that I regularly follow to get new meal ideas. There are tons of great blogs out there!
Kay on April 29th, 2009 8:26 am

This is really interesting! I like all your thoughts, tips, and ideas.
Thanks for the recipe links, Kelly. Yeah, I knew you plan menus… some week I oughta just do your menu. ????
Aug, I saw a recipe in that cookbook for Eclair dessert w your name under it, wondered if that was you.
Ha, Cheryl, sounds like you’ve got a ‘meat&potatoes’ man, too.
Twila, your rough menu planning is kinda like my mom used to do. I remember chicken on Tues nights, breakfast on Wed nights, and pizza on Sat nights, and i forget what the other ones were, but she kinda had a plan with certain types of things on certain days, but the actual dishes would vary.
Glad to see there are some like me too, including some nights you can’t think of anything, so it’s kinda just eat whatever. ????
Debbie on April 30th, 2009 11:11 am

Those look like total comfort food to me. So delicious!
Christy on May 2nd, 2009 7:21 pm

My cooking style is lots of Mexican and Italian. Those are our two favorites and the easiest for me to slap together. We used to grill once a week, but don’t have a grill anymore. I miss it!

I have already done the certain type of food per day thing. Funny thing is, I rotated startch instead of meet. Like Monday might have been rice, Tuesday potatoes, Wednesday pasta:) One day was leftovers or whatever, one day grill, one pizza-ish something and the other day?

When I got married, my sister wrote up a list of probably 75 menu ideas. I still refer back to it when I get stuck in a rut. Or then I’ll try a new recipe. Or make one up; that would be the most likely.
Roxanna on May 12th, 2009 3:36 pm

mMMMMMMMM…I’m trying these sandwhiches tonight AND the Southwestern Potatoes from Kellycooks! Can’t wait for supper! Thanks Ladies!
Priscilla on May 13th, 2009 6:47 pm

Hi Kay! I just discovered your site and have spent the last hour (at least) just browsing. So interesting! Katie made your berry mandarin salad for the sewing today, & it was delicious! These Chicken Cheese Melts look really good…I will try them sometime soon.
Judi on June 4th, 2009 12:36 pm

These look yummy! I’ll have to try them

Chicken and Turkey

Mushroom Muenster Chicken

March 26, 2009 December 12, 2019

Posted on March 26, 2009
Filed Under Chicken and Turkey

This is one of those recipe names that you pretty much know what the dish is… the 3 main ingredients in this dish are mushrooms, muenster cheese, and chicken. And a good combo that is!!! Really, how could you go wrong with those ingredients.

This recipe was in my pile of loose recipes. It’s clipped out of a Country Woman magazine, I don’t know what year or month. It was on page 51… I guess you don’t need to know that, unless you want to go thro’ your stack of Country Woman magazines and look up all the page 51s. ???? In the italic print with the recipe, it says it won 1st place in a festival contest.

Mushroom Muenster Chicken

2 eggs
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs (I used crushed Town House crackers and mixed in a bit of Italian seasoning and seasoned salt.)
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1″ cubes
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. Cajun seasoning
1/2 lb. sliced fresh mushrooms
10 oz. Muenster cheese (I have a little scale, so I dutifully weighed the cheese and guess what! 10 oz was exactly 10 slices!)

In a shallow bowl, beat eggs. Place breadcrumbs in a large resealable plastic bag. Dip chicken in eggs, then place in bag and shake to coat.

In a large skillet, cook chicken in oil over medium heat for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Transfer chicken to a greased 9×13 baking dish. Sprinkle with Cajun seasoning.

Top with mushrooms and cheese.

Cover and bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until chicken juices run clear.

Yield: 6 servings. Serve with a mixed green salad or steamed fresh green beans. I served it with California blend veggies (cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots) and crescent rolls. And to serve the chicken, I just put a serving spoon in it and we dished it out like you would a casserole.

This tastes great and is easy to throw together, but we thought it was a little greasy. I want to try it with grilled chicken to see if the greasiness was from frying the chicken in oil. If it’s still greasy w grilled chicken, I’ll assume it’s because of the muenster cheese and try mozzarella or provolone instead.

Comments

9 Responses to “Mushroom Muenster Chicken”

Rosalyn on March 26th, 2009 8:45 pm

This sounds like something my family would love!
Rose on March 26th, 2009 9:31 pm

This sounds like it would be really good with bacon on top! I’ll have to try it, we love to eat chicken!
Lorrie on March 27th, 2009 3:21 pm

This looks really yummy, but as usual I’ll have to make a seperate dish made with soy faux chicken for my vegetarian son. The cheese he’ll eat though. Thanks!
Angela on March 28th, 2009 8:45 am

My mouth is watering- 3 of my favorite foods here. Unfortunately, I’m about the only one in my family who enjoys mushrooms. As a side note, have you ever tried tallying nutritional information with any of your recipes (calories, fat, etc)? I’m not sure how to do it, but it’d be interesting to see how some recipes pan out.
Kay on March 28th, 2009 8:58 am

Angela, I actually do tally calories pretty often, I don’t do the other info though, like fat grams etc. I don’t really wanna put it on here because it would kinda wreck it for some people… “Oh, yum, that looks good! I oughta make it! Oh no, it has 640 calories per serving, guess I won’t.” (This dish isn’t 640 cal per serving, but those caramel pecan pancakes from awhile ago were close to 1000!) ????
kris on March 28th, 2009 1:20 pm

hey…im giving this recipie a try..from the pic it looks really good! IM going to add oinions and peppers to mine ..
Marissa on March 30th, 2009 12:56 pm

We tried this recipe with a blended colby cheese and Adobe seasoning (what we had on hand). It was DELICIOUS; definitely make again. Thanks for sharing such a simpl, yet tastey dish
Anna on March 31st, 2009 5:11 am

Congrats on this, my mouth was watering as i read it. My mind was thinking, a bit greasy, and then i saw that you wrote that the family also thought the same. Maybe after covering the chicken in bread crumbs, roasting them off in the oven to brown as oppossed to frying? would certainly cutdown on the grease.
Must try this at home, reckon the family will love it.

Greetings from portugal.

Much love,

Anna
Al Malekovic on April 2nd, 2009 9:55 am

I tried to find you email address, but could not. I hope you don’t mind me sending this. My name is Al Malekovic (al@countrybobs.com) and I represent a very, very small company called Country Bob’s, Inc. We are making a great sauce called, “Country Bob’s All Purpose Sauce” and we would like to get the word out about our product.
I know that blogs are a great way to get information to the general public. I conducted a google search for food blogs and your name came and after looking at your blog, I was wondering if you would be interested in trying my sauce and perhaps reviewing it for me.

If you send me your name and address via e-mail, I would gladly send you a recipe brochure along with two bottles of Country Bob’s All Purpose Sauce in hopes that you would write a review.

If you would like more information, I would be glad to respond to any questions you might have. In fact, if you are interested in interviewing me after you’ve sampled the product, I would gladly make myself available!

Thank you for your consideration. http://www.countrybobs.com I will also give you two two bottle give a ways and just email me the winners and we will mail out.

Chicken and Turkey, Grilling, Main Dishes

Grilled Chicken Sandwiches

March 9, 2009 December 12, 2019

Posted on March 9, 2009
Filed Under Chicken and Turkey, Grilling, Main dishes

Hi again! It’s been awhile! The ‘famine’ on here doesn’t mean we haven’t been eating! It means that the last 2 weeks have been abnormal weeks as far as cooking goes, with company and then being busy with a booth at a Home and Garden show. Not a cooking show booth, by the way. ????
We were selling these:

Anybody need a beautiful cedar gazebo in your yard?

I do love those little cooking show booths at shows though, even though the chefs always use the same lines and the same jokes. It just amazes me how they can talk AND cook at the same time! I think I’m a bit too absent-minded for that. And the cookware that cooks stuff without water… Wow! And the food doesn’t burn… Wow! I have a hard enough time WITH water! Tonight while we were making supper, I even burned a piece of toast (not in water though… see, that’s what happens when I cook without water)! Yeah, WE were making supper, not ME… because it involved grilling and that is my husband’s territory.

Here, I’ll show you what we ate tonight:

We’re always trying to think of new things to do with grilled chicken breast besides chicken breast salad, shishkabobs, or just eating it plain w bbq sauce. This sandwich is actually along the lines of the Open-faced Pork Chop Sandwich that is a specialty around here.

Grilled Chicken Sandwich

Bread
Chicken breast
Provolone cheese (or cheese of choice)
Barbeque sauce OR dijon mustard

Toast the bread. Season and grill the chicken, then chunk it up.

Assemble in this order: Toast, chicken, bbq sauce or dijon mustard, cheese, toast.

Microwave for about 1 minute, 2 min if you’re doing 2 sandwiches.

And… enjoy!

Mmmm, so good and so easy and so quick and not much cleanup!

Wouldn’t you just like to snitch a piece? It’s flavored SO good and is nice and juicy! Not sure what seasonings he used. Edit: He just said he used Cajun Black’n seasoning from the Bayfield Spice Company in Rhinelander, WI.

Comments

6 Responses to “Grilled Chicken Sandwiches”

Shannon on March 9th, 2009 8:34 pm

Oh I am so ready to get the grill out again. Haven’t had time so far and I’m afraid it’s gonna get cold again. These sound good!!
Sandra on March 11th, 2009 9:17 am

Hey I saw the famous daves bbq sauce..the best!!This looks so good!I grew up on sandwiches so this looks great!
Monica Y on March 13th, 2009 9:51 am

Oh those look good!! My little grill is just begging to fired up again!! I can hardly wait. Were you at the Home and Garden Show in Columbus?? I love walking around looking at all the stuff…..but we didn’t make it there this year. If I’d a known–maybe I would have went and looked you up!!
Monica Y on March 13th, 2009 10:00 am

By the way, I’d take one of those gazebos. Sadly, it’s not in our budget.
Freida on March 16th, 2009 9:55 am

Oh yum… This gets me in the mood for summer! We do grill occasionally in the winter,tho. Its too hard to stay away from it all winter long. Gonna try these!
Audrey Miller on March 17th, 2009 1:44 pm

These look really great and totally look like something that we would eat. Yeah, I am getting pretty hungry right now. Keep the posts coming because I always enjoy looking/reading through your recipes. I know it takes a lot of time for you though.

Chicken and Turkey, Easy Meals, Main Dishes

Cheesy Chicken Quesadillas, only 4 ingredients!

July 9, 2008 December 12, 2019

Posted on July 9, 2008
Filed Under Chicken and Turkey, Easy meals, Main dishes

The title actually sorta gives away what most of the ingredients are! Cheese (actually a can of cheese soup), chicken, and if it’s quesadillas it’s gotta have tortillas, and water. I got this recipe off of the soup can. Southwest Style Pepper Jack soup.

It was kind of hard to find… have you ever stared and stared at shelves, just knowing it was there, but you couldn’t lay your eyes on it? I did that with this. I did it in the jello section looking for watermelon gelatin too just lately, but that’s for another time and another post. There is a difference though… with the watermelon gelatin, I was only hoping it was there, with the soup, I knew it was there.

The reason I knew it was there is because my sister-in-law Liz makes these quesadillas and she said Marketplace has the soup, but Walmart doesn’t. After I finally found the soup, I immediately looked on the label to see if the recipe was there and sure enough, it was. Then, I wondered HOW, out of all the soup can labels there, Liz found this soup and tried this recipe. And it was a hit with the family! Wonder how much more I’m missing out on by not trying other soup can label recipes.

There are 4 more recipes on the back (you have to cut the paper off of the can on the specified line and flip the paper over to see them, this is not something you should be doing in the store before purchasing). I think it’s the manufacturer’s trick to getting you to buy more… you can’t see the other recipes till you get home and cut the paper off of the empty can before throwing it away. Then some of the recipes grab you and “Southwest Style Pepper Jack soup” goes right back on your shopping list. The other recipes are: Nachos Grande, Cheesy Pepper Jack Tacos, Mexican Meatloaf, and Cheesy Southwest Potatoes. I’ll bet some of those would be good too. Especially the nachos, meatloaf, and potatoes. They all have 5-7 ingredients. The reason you don’t need many ingredients is because this soup has got LOTS of flavor and kick.

Cheesy Chicken Quesadillas

Printable recipe

1 lb. boneless chicken breast halves, cubed
1 can Campbell’s Southwest Style Pepper Jack soup
1/4 cup water
8 flour tortillas (8″), warmed (I used 9″ tortillas, and only 6 of them)

Preheat oven to 325. Cook chicken in nonstick skillet until done and juices evaporate, stirring often. Add soup and water and heat through. Shannon grilled the chicken on the grill while I mixed and heated the soup and water. When the chicken was done, I chunked it up and mixed it into the soup.

Spoon about 1/3 cup chicken mixture on half of each tortilla to within 1/2″ of the edge. Moisten edge with water.

Fold over and seal. Place on 2 baking sheets (or 1, in this case). Bake 5 min. or until hot. I baked them for 7-8 minutes, until I saw a bit of browning.

Cut into wedges and serve with salsa. And/or sour cream. I ate mine with sour cream. It was spicy enough without the salsa.

Just delicious for something so simple! If you have a full-time job and need to come home and make supper, this would be a good thing for the main dish! It takes about 20 minutes from start to finish. For a quick idea of something to serve with it, how about tortilla chips and applesauce. Or peanut butter pie (I’m so hungry for peanut butter pie!). Or ice cream. Or something else cold and creamy to cool the mouth. Tiffany’s take on the quesadillas after a couple bites was, “I don’t wike da spicy.”

Comments

10 Responses to “Cheesy Chicken Quesadillas, only 4 ingredients!”

Esther on July 10th, 2008 7:54 am

yum!! They look good. We have a quesdilla maker that makes making quesdillas fun but i was wondering is this mixture kinda runny from the pic it looked like it was. Our thing closes tightly and i was wondering if i try if everything will get squished out? Keep the good recepies coming! I love your site. I finally found doughnut mix after lots of searching now i can finally make those raspberry things.
Monica on July 10th, 2008 9:19 am

MMMM!! They sound yummy!! I’ll have to try them.
Shannon on July 10th, 2008 3:32 pm

Sounds good. My girls would say the same things Tiffany did. Nothing spicy here!!
Kay on July 11th, 2008 7:54 pm

Esther, wow, I’d be making quesadillas all the time if I had a quesadilla maker. Yeah, the filling is kind of runny, but there’s enough chicken in it to keep it from running out, at least when they’re made this way. Not sure what it would do in a quesadilla maker. Might work to put less water in the soup.
Liz on July 12th, 2008 4:15 pm

Just FYI I didn’t find that recipe by myself. I think my mom got if off one of those adds in Readers Digest that is advertising for Campbells. She served it to us and that is how I found out about it. I sometimes think the same thing of how many recipes are out there that I don’t even see because I am not looking at recipes on the containers.
anxiety on January 19th, 2009 6:01 am

I just tried your recipe today and wanted to say thank you, because it was really tasty!
Jennifer on May 25th, 2010 6:10 am

I tried this last night and it was yummy! I substituted salsa for the water and added onions to it. We ate them up! Thanks!!!
penguinracing on August 7th, 2010 2:13 pm

I loved this receipe, and my step kids actually do too. I found the receipe on the label of the soup can. Too bad can’t find it anymore, no substitue found yet
P.J. Scott on April 26th, 2014 12:11 pm

I’ve spent the last 2 weeks searching for Campbell’s southwest style pepper jack soup and canops and Wegman’s’t find it anywhere. I live in Western NY (Niagara County) and have looked at Tops and Wegmans. Anybody know how I can locate this flavor?
Cassandra on October 14th, 2014 7:27 pm

I have looked for the last 2 years for this soup and can’t find it anywhere. It looks like Campbell’s isn’t making it anymore. If anyone finds a substitute flavoring, please let me know. This was so good and so quick and easy to make!! Miss it!

Chicken and Turkey

Zesty Mozzarella Chicken

June 13, 2008 December 13, 2019

Posted on June 13, 2008
Filed Under Chicken and Turkey

This recipe would be worth your time. Not that it takes a bunch of time. I just really REALLY like it. The last time I made it, I was going to feature it, but I burned the chicken.

Hey, here’s a question for you… How often do you make flops? …anything from desserts not setting up right to burning something to cooking veggies too long to forgetting to cut an ingredient amount in half when you’re making half of a recipe. Maybe those don’t all classify as flops, but I mean things like that where maybe only you as the cook know they even happened. For example, if I burn garlic toast under the broiler, if it’s not too bad, I take a knife and scrape off the burnt part. Nobody ever knows the diff. And the ingredient thing, I do that quite a bit because I cook small and am often halving recipes. Anyway, I mess something up at least once a week. What about you?

This chicken recipe is taken from A Taste of the Country 8th Edition cookbook…

Zesty Mozzarella Chicken

Printable recipe

1 egg white, lightly beaten
2 Tbsp. milk
1 cup dry bread crumbs (I use Club cracker crumbs)
2 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. each salt, pepper, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and dried oregano
8 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce (instead of the tomato sauce mixed with basil, I just use Ragu pasta sauce)
1 tsp. dried basil
1 cup (4 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese (or Italian blend cheese)

In a shallow bowl, combine egg white and milk. In another bowl, combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and seasonings.

Dip each chicken breast in the egg white mixture, then in the crumb mixture. Melt butter in a skillet; brown chicken on both sides until pink and juices run clear.

To tell if the chicken is done, I either cut into a piece to see if it’s not pink anymore or poke a fork thermometer into it.

Meanwhile, heat tomato sauce and basil until warm. When chicken is done, sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.

Remove from the heat and cover for 2-3 minutes or until cheese melts. Serve with tomato-basil sauce.

I don’t think the breading is enough for 8 pieces because I always make 4 pieces and use about 3/4 of the breading for a full recipe! So, if you do make the full 8-piece recipe, make more of the crumb mixture than it calls for. Or maybe I just like more breading than most people.

I usually serve this chicken with noodles, Pillsbury French bread, and salad.

Comments

7 Responses to “Zesty Mozzarella Chicken”

Jo on June 13th, 2008 11:38 am

My mouth is watering. Can’t wait to try it! Titus is on day shift next week; I may have to put this on our supper menu for one night.
As for flops—well, I’d have a lot more if I’d cook supper every day. But it’s kinda hard to “flop” breakfast foods.
Freida on June 13th, 2008 1:42 pm

That looks like something worth trying. Oh lalalaala. Can’t wait!
Michelle on June 13th, 2008 2:19 pm

Mmm.. This looks good. It seems like my food usually decides to “flop” when I’m making it for company or to take away. I don’t know if I try too hard or what. By the way… the breadsticks you had with your meal of chicken and carrots looks good. Wouldn’t mind to have the recipe posted sometime:)
Kelly on June 13th, 2008 4:37 pm

Mmmm…looks delicious!
And in response to your question — it seems like I do pretty well without messing up….as long as I’m not making it for someone ELSE.

Every time I have to provide a food for a function, it seems I run the risk of screwing it up!
Melissa K on June 15th, 2008 5:25 am

This is similar to my chicken parm recipe except I just do it all in the oven and add the sauce & cheese at the end too.

I do flops often enough, mainly because I LOVE to cook outside my comfort zone and try new things. Some of them work, some of them don’t. I especially try new dessert recipes all the time and I don’t hesitate to try, for example, three brand new desserts for a family party. So of course mistakes happen. It’s just part of trying something new (or being very frazzled when I cook a tried and true recipe!)
E on June 16th, 2008 6:21 pm

I can only recall one flop since I’ve been married. (under 2 years) That one was because I subsituted too many things. I think my lack of flops are because of two things:
1. Since I work part time, I only cook 2-3 times a week.
2. I am very picky with the recipes I use and I love to try new recipes. I do very little cooking out of Mennonite cookbooks. I use recipes from Taste of Home, Pampered Chef, and Food Network that have been tried and perfected in test kitchens.
Megan Boris on June 19th, 2008 7:05 am

Megan Boris-

I tried this and it was AMAZING! Thanks for making it available! I cut the recipe in half & used whole wheat crackers for the bread crumbs…it came out great!

Chicken and Turkey, Pork and Ham

Bacon-Wrapped Chicken

June 3, 2008 December 12, 2019

Posted on June 3, 2008
Filed Under Chicken and Turkey, Pork and ham

I’ve never made bacon-wrapped anything. I’ve had bacon-wrapped crackers and I’ve had bacon-wrapped filet mignon, but didn’t make either of them. So, here it is, the first time I’ve made a bacon-wrapped something…

Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Recipe taken from the 2001 Quick Cooking cookbook

6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 carton (8 oz) whipped cream cheese with onion and chives
1 Tbsp. butter or margarine, cubed
Salt to taste
6 bacon strips

Flatten the chicken to 1/2″ thickness.

Spread 3 Tbsp cream cheese over each. Dot with the butter and sprinkle with salt. Have you ever tried spreading cream cheese on slippery raw chicken? It’s hard!!!

Roll up. Wrap each with a bacon strip. Place, seam side down, in a greased 9×13 pan.

Bake, uncovered, at 400 for 35-40 minutes or until juices run clear. Broil 6″ from the heat for 5 minutes or until bacon is crisp. Yield: 6 servings. Look at the difference in the pan of the picture above and the picture below! The bacon sizzled and splattered while baking. We could hear it.

We had creamed peas and Red Lobster biscuits with it.

This bacon-wrapped chicken actually looked REALLY good and sounded like it would be top notch, as in put it on the make-for-company list. The combo of chicken and bacon was really good, but the chicken was a bit dry and it wasn’t really all that extra flavorful.

Next time, I’m going to skip the cream cheese thing and sprinkle other seasonings inside instead. Then, I’ll bake it covered (so the splattering bacon doesn’t total my oven!) and uncover it for the broiling at the end. I think the chicken would stay more moist that way. And then we could eat it with barbeque sauce. Bbq sauce didn’t seem like it would go with that cream cheese mixture.

But it does look kinda neat, doesn’t it? One thing that surprised me was that the bacon stayed on, even when it ended at the top. I didn’t have to tack it down with toothpicks or anything!

One of these weeks, I’ll have to do a week of re-doing recipes that I’ve tried. I say ‘next time’ and then just keep making new recipes and ‘next time’ doesn’t really happen, although I did try something different with those carrot pancakes… I traded the cup of carrots for 1/3 cup of pumpkin and doubled the pecans. I kept everything else the same, but maybe should’ve added nutmeg. It was much better than the original recipe!

Comments

10 Responses to “Bacon-Wrapped Chicken”

Annette33 on June 3rd, 2008 12:00 pm

I think I’ve tried this one before, and I didn’t like the cream cheese filling. I may just have to try it again, making your change suggestions. If you decide to redo the recipe, you could call it Recipe Remix, or Seconds with a Twist, lol.
Shannon on June 3rd, 2008 1:55 pm

Interesting. I rarely buy bacon… might be something I have to try.
Kelly on June 3rd, 2008 2:41 pm

Mmm..this looks good. I think I would take your advice, remove the cream cheese, put some herbs in, and then use some BBQ sauce.

Looks delish!
Freida on June 3rd, 2008 2:44 pm

Those look yummy! The only time I ever bacon-wrap anything is for shish-kabobs. I wrap it around fresh mushrooms and put it on there. Never thought of putting it on chicken. I’ll have to give it a try.
barb on June 3rd, 2008 3:59 pm

Looks really good Kay. I have never bacon-wrapped anything either. They do look really neat. I am glad you tried them first, because I don’t like dry chicken. Isn’t it funny how some recipes are that way. You just know they will be good. With the ingredients it calls for, its got to be good. But then it just isn’t that great. It’s a good thing there are cooks like you that can re-do a recipe and make it taste wonderful.
Elizabeth on June 3rd, 2008 4:07 pm

It sounds good though! you should try bacon wrapped hot dogs!! grilled of course. its really good!
Cheryl on June 3rd, 2008 6:21 pm

One summer we had a favorite of marinating the chicken breasts in Italian dressing and then we put onion and pepper strips in the center and rolled the chicken and wrapped them in bacon. If you like peppers and onions…its really good, at least we liked it. We grilled them. I want to say there was some swiss cheese in there too but don’t remember for sure. I’m not sure how you would keep it from running out the ends.
Angela on June 4th, 2008 1:49 pm

You might want to try grilling this recipe, that would bring out more flavor. My husband says if you wrap bacon around anything it will taste better! =)
barb on June 4th, 2008 8:08 pm

Kay,
I guess I am going to try blogging my kitchen experiences. Thanks to you, it just got me motivated. I went ahead and did a post on soft pretzels, but I still want you to. People need to know how to make them:)
franskitchen.blogspot.com
Jo on June 4th, 2008 8:54 pm

We’ve sometimes put a slice of pineapple on top of a burger, wrapped bacon around it, and grilled it. Mmm, mm, good! (A challenge to manuever on the grill, however!)
I’d second your idea of covering the chicken during the baking time. Maybe a bit of lemon juice & water in the bottom of the pan, too…I despise dry chicken breasts!!!!

Chicken and Turkey, Holiday Cooking

Butterball or Jennie-o?

November 15, 2007 December 19, 2019

…Which brand are you cooking on Thanksgiving Day?

turkey

I was just in line at the grocery store and overheard this conversation:
Cashier, as she was ringing up a Butterball turkey: “Butterball. Good choice.”
Customer, who was a man that looked to be in his late 50s: “It’s the best.”
Lady customer (not me ), standing in line behind the man: “Butterball is better than Jennie-o?”
I forget from there, but the male customer and the cashier were all but talking over each other, telling the lady customer how much better flavor Butterball is and how dry Jennie-o is compared to Butterball.

I have no clue which is better, but was surprised how strong both of them felt about Butterball. What’s your opinion? Do you feel strong about a certain brand being the best?

Comments

One Response to “Butterball or Jennie-o?”

Emory Safford on November 18th, 2011 11:05 pm

I believe it’s more a matter of how it’s cooked regardless of brand. Locally here in MN Jenni O is on sale for .68 a pound. Butterball is 1.09 a lb. Now if the turkeys cooked in a roasting bag inside a roasting pan at a lower temperature I find they generally turn out moist and delicious regardless of brand. Bottom line get the one that’s on sale!

Breads Biscuits and Rolls, Chicken and Turkey, Pies

Anybody on a diet? This meal is for you!

January 17, 2007 December 19, 2019

445 calories… including dessert! Not bad!

diet meal

Garlic Chicken Kiev
Chewy Pizza Bread
Cauliflower and Broccoli
Strawberry Pie

These recipes (except the caul and broc, that’s just cooked frozen veggies) all come from Betty Crocker’s Eat and Lose Weight Cookbook . After each recipe is a chart with as much info on it as you’d find on a nutrition label. I’ll just list the calories, carbs, and protein. If you want more info than that, let me know.

Garlic Chicken Kiev

3 Tbsp reduced calorie spead, softened (I used low-fat butter, half the calories of reg butter)
1 Tbsp chopped fresh chives or parsley (I used 1/2 Tbsp of each)
1/8 tsp garlic powder
6 skinless boneless chicken breast halves (1 1/2 lbs)
2 cups cornflakes, crushed (about 1 cup)
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk or skim milk

Mix spread, chives, and garlic powder, shape into rectangle, 3 x 2 inches. Cover and freeze about 30 min or until firm.     Trim fat from chicken. Flatten each chicken breast half to 1/4-inch thickness between wax paper or plastic wrap.     Heat oven to 425. Spray square pan, 9 x 9 x 2 inches, with non-stick cooking spray. Cut chives mixture crosswise into 6 pieces. Place one piece on center of each chicken breast half.
diet chic1 Fold long sides of chicken over chives mixture; fold up ends and secure with toothpick.
diet chic2 …yeah, as simple as that! Ha! It took me a long time to make these things and I used up to 4 toothpicks per piece! In a perfect world, chicken breast halves would all be shaped the same and be 4 ounces each!      Mix cornflakes, parsley, and paprika. Dip chicken into milk, then lightly and evenly coat with cornflake mixture.
diet chic3 Place chicken, seam sides down, in pan. Bake uncovered about 35 min or until chicken is no longer pink in center.
diet chic4 6 servings. Per serving: 190 calories; Carbohydrates, 9g; Protein, 25g        These tasted great! Nice and moist chicken! The fresh spices (or is it herbs?) give it lots of flavor! I’ll know more what I’m doing next time and hopefully the whole folding thing will go smoother and faster!!! Will definitely make again!

Chewy Pizza Bread

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup regular or non-alcoholic beer (Since I didn’t have beer on hand, I used Diet Coke)
1/2 cup speghetti sauce
1/3 cup shredded reduced-fat mozzarella cheese
Chopped fresh basil leaves, if desired (I didn’t do that)

Heat oven to 425. Spray round pan, 9 x 1 1/2 inches, with non-stick cooking spray. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl. Stir in beer just until flour is moistened. Spread dough in pan. Spread speghetti sauce over dough. Sprinkle with cheese.
diet bread1 Bake 15-20 min or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Sprinkle with basil. Serve warm.
diet bread2 6 servings. Per serving: 145 calories; Carbohydrates, 29g; Protein, 4g If you keep in mind that this is a diet dish, it’s actually very good! The problem was that there was too little cheese, but that’s diet for ya! I guess we’re just too used to stuff loaded with cheese… refer to previous post! I was surprised about this bread. I thought it would be biscuity, but it was actually more like regular raised bread, only more dense. It’s very filling, too. By the way, the Diet Coke seemed to work great as a substitute!

Strawberry Pie with Meringue Crust

2 egg whites
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 cup sugar
1 pkg (1.1 oz) vanilla fat-free sugar-free instant pudding and pie filling
1 cup skim milk
1 1/2 cups frozen (thawed) reduced-fat whipped topping
1 pint strawberries (2 cups), sliced

Heat oven to 275. Spray pie plate, 9 x 1 1/4 inches, with non-stick cooking spray. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar in medium bowl with electric mixer on high speed until foamy. Beat in sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time; continue beating until stiff and glossy. Do not underbeat. Spread mixture evenly on bottom and halfway up side of pie plate. I put it to the top of the pie plate instead of halfway up.
diet pie1 Bake 40 min. Turn oven off; leave meringue in oven with door closed 1 hour. Finish cooling meringue at room temperature.
diet pie2 Beat pudding and pie filling with milk about 45 seconds, using wire whisk. Fold in one cup of the whipped topping. Layer half of the pudding mixture and half of the strawberries in crust; repeat. Cover loosely and refrigerate till firm, at least one hour, but no longer than 8 hours. Run knife around edge to loosen crust. Top each serving with some of the remaining 1/2 cup whipped topping. I put the 1/2 cup Cool Whip on top right away and garnished it with a strawberry so that it would look more attractive sitting on the table during supper. Cover and refrigerate any remaining pie.
diet pie3 8 servings. Per serving: 85 calories; Carbohydrate, 16g; Protein, 2g This is just tops (for a low-cal dessert). The crust is great (meringue goes good with this pie), but it’s not too sturdy when you try to get pieces out of the pan. It kind of crumples up with the pie server sliding under it, so you don’t really end up with a picture-perfect piece. But the taste with fresh strawberries makes up for it! Yum!

By the way, one serving of the veggies was 25 calories . Not sure of the other specs on it.