Broccoli Lemon Chicken

This was so good, and actually really easy to cook....and super healthy!!

Ingredients
 3 tablespoons soy sauce
 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
 2 tablespoons honey
 2 cloves garlic, minced
 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices
 2 tablespoons canola oil
 1 1/2 pounds broccoli, stems peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick, florets separated
 1 small lemon, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise, seeds removed
 2 teaspoons cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tablespoon water
 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
Directions
 In a large, shallow bowl, whisk together soy sauce, 3 tablespoons water, vinegar, honey, garlic, and crushed red pepper. Pour half of the mixture into another bowl; reserve. Place chicken in remaining mixture; let marinate 15 minutes.
 In a 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat 1/2 tablespoon oil over high heat. Add half the chicken; cook, tossing often, until brown and cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate. Repeat with another 1/2 tablespoon oil and remaining chicken. Wipe skillet with a paper towel.
 Heat remaining tablespoon oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Cook broccoli and lemon, tossing often, until broccoli is bright green, about 3 minutes. Add 1/2 cup water; cook until broccoli is tender and lemon is translucent, about 6 minutes.
 Add reserved marinade, cornstarch mixture, chicken, and any accumulated juices from plate. Bring to a boil; cook, stirring until thickened, 1 minute. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Honey Glazed Chicken

3 boneless chicken breasts
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 cup honey
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup chopped onion (or 1/16 cup onion flakes)
1/4 cup ketchup
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
2 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

Season both sides of chicken with salt and pepper, put into crock pot. In a small bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, garlic and pepper flakes. Pour over chicken. Cook on low for 3 hours or on high 1 1/2 hours. Chicken into bite size pieces, then return to pot and toss with sauce. Serve over rice or noodles.

To bake chicken as a 30 minute meal:
Dice chicken and season both sides with salt and pepper, place in 8x8 pan. Pour sauce over chicken and bake at 350 for 20 minutes, stirring after 10 minutes.

As I discovered about 15 minutes before it was cooked, I am out of rice.  So I served it over pasta, and it was really good!  And...confession....I used the 30 minute method, because it was one of THOSE days, and I sort of forgot about dinner til approximately 4:45....very tasty!!!

Chicken Salad Sandwich

I L.O.V.E chicken salad!!  But I'm crazy picky about it.  I've stopped ordering it in restaurants because I'm always disappointed.  I never like it as much as I do my own.  Last week, we had a good friend come over for lunch one day and I figured it was the perfect time to bust out my chicken salad sandwich!!

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 1/2 cups mayo or miracle whip (I use light)
1/4 cup diced green onions
1/2 t lemon juice,
1/4 t salt
1/8 t black pepper
1 t paprika
1/4 t sugar

Poach the chicken breasts and dice them into bite size chunks.  It should only take about 10-15 minutes to cook through.  Let the chicken cool.  Mix the chicken and all other ingredients together in a large bowl.  Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour, so it's served cold. 

You can use the bread or roll of your choice.  I always choose a soft roll, cuz that's what I like.  Slice the roll open and garnish with lettuce and tomato.  Pile on the chicken salad and enjoy!!

And you can never, ever go wrong with a side of deviled eggs!!!

Yummy Philly Cheese

I love Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches, but am really picky about them.  I hate it when they're greasy and don't like them from a lot of restaurants.  So when I came upon a receipe for them, I decided to give it a shot.  Very easy, and super good!  We actually ended up having them two days in a row, due to Josh's request.

1 lb thinly sliced sirloin steak
1 green pepper, thinly sliced
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
8 slices chese of choice--I used Muenster
4 hoagie rolls

Preheat the oven to 350.  Heat 1/8 c of olive oil in a skillet on a medium burner.  Slide peppers and onion into the pan and cook for about 4 minutes.  Set them aside in a bowl, with the juices.  Heat another 1/8 c of olive oil in the pan.  Put the meat into the pan and cook to your desired temperature(remember it will cook more in the oven).  Put the peppers and onions back in the pan to heat all together for a couple of minutes.

Cut the hoagie rolls open and put each one down on a sheet of tin foil.  Scoop the meat, pepper, and onion mix onto the bottom half of the bun.  Top with cheese and put the top half of the bun on top.  Wrap the sandwich in the tin foil and place them on a cookie sheet in the oven for approximately 20 minutes.  Pull the pan out of the oven, unwrap the foil and put back in the oven for about 5 minutes.  The cheese will be completely melted, the bread will be lightly toasted, and the sandwiches will be completely amazing!!!

Two Timin' Pasta

I'm not sure it can really be called cooking when it's this easy!!

1 box penne pasta
1 (15 oz.) jar Alfredo sauce--I used Bertoli
1 (24oz.) jar Marinara sauce--I used Bertoli
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Cook the penne pasta in a pan of boiling water.  Combine the jar of Alfredo sauce, the jar of Marinara sauce, and the mozzarella cheese in a bowl.  Once the pasta is cooked, pour it into the bowl and stir it until the pasta is completely coated with sauce.  Pour into a 9 X 12 casserole dish and top with the shredded Parmesan cheese.  Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.  I paired it with garlic bread and fresh, steamed brocolli.  It was delish!!! 

Super Bowl Sunday Deliciousness!

We are not at all football fans, but the Super Bowl gives us an excuse to sit around with the family, eat yummy food, and watch the commercials!  And to be honest, it served this year as a count down to the start of a new season of The Voice!

So, I'm on a recipe kick, and especially a crock pot recipes.  I found this delicious recipe for crock pot chicken tacos.  YUMMY!!!!  This recipe also comes from this great blog!

5 FROZEN chicken breasts (don't you love it when you can start with frozen! Me too...)
1 1/2 C salsa (I used fresh salsa purchased from the grocery store)
2 cans cream of chicken soup (I use 98% fat free)
2 1/2 T taco seasoning
1 T maple syrup (Yum. Trust me. It adds a lot of yum....
 and I know you have some in your pantry!)
1 t lime juice (you can use bottled)
1 T butter
1/2 C sour cream (I use light)

Serve over Tortilla chips or Tortillas.  Top with tomatoes, onions, cheddar cheese, lettuce, perhaps a little cilantro,  sliced avocado? Maybe we are gourmet after all!

1. Spray the inside of your crock pot with cooking spray and place the FROZEN chicken breasts inside.
2. In a small mixing bowl stir together all other ingredients but the butter and sour cream.
3. Pour the sauce over the top of the chicken. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours, or on low for 7-8 hours.
4. Take the chicken out of the crock and onto a plate. Shred it all up with a fork and throw it back in.
5. Add the little pat of butter and the sour cream, stir it all around until incorporated.
6. Cook for 1 more hour.

We served it over tortilla chips with melted cheese, topped with sour cream, diced tomatoes and lettuce, and it was completely delicious!!  For leftovers tomorrow night, I think I'm going to actually try it over rice.

Texas Sheet Cake 

Ahhh-may-zing!!  And really....a cake that can be ready in 35 minutes, from start to finish....that's my kind of dessert!!!



Ingredients

1 c. butter

1 c. water

2 c. sugar

2 c. + 4 T flour

1/2 t salt

1 t soda

2 eggs

1 t vanilla

1/2 c. sour cream

Frosting:

1 C butter

6 T evaporated milk

1 t vanilla

4-5 c. powdered sugar

dash of salt
1 c. pecans (optional)

Put butter and water in a large bowl.  Heat in microwave for 2 minutes.  Stir until all the butter is melted.  Add sugar, flour, salt, and soda.  Stir with a wire whisk until smooth.  Add eggs and vanilla, beat well.  Stir in sour cream until all is blended. 
Pour into a 11”x17” baking sheet that has been greased and floured. 
Bake at 375º for 20-25 minutes, until cake springs back when lightly touched or toothpick inserted in center comes clean.
Remove from the oven and make the frosting.
Cook butter and milk for 3-4 minutes in microwave.  Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and a dash of salt.  Beat until smooth. Add nuts and gently spread on warm cake.

Cool and serve. (I couldn't wait and we ate it slightly warm....ooooooooooooo man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Yummy, Incredibly Easy Cake!!

This cake was so good, and not filled with calories!  And it's so, so easy.  It's super light and airy. 

1 box lemon cake mix
1 20 oz bottle of Diet Coke

Mix the two ingredients together and pour it into a 9 X 12 cake pan that you have sprayed with non stick spray.  Bake for 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven.  Let cool.  Top cake with a tub of Cool Whip.  If not serving the whole cake at once, do what I did and just top each piece with Cool Whip.

Yummy Baked Potato

I live in Idaho.  We eat a lot of potatoes.  I've never been able to get my nephew to eat baked potatoes.  He likes them mashed, roasted, and as fries, but not never baked.  So recently I decided to try something new. 

Wash the potatoes and pat dry with a paper towel.  Put a dallop of olive oil on the potato and rub it around so that the entire skin is covered in olive oil.  Then do the same thing with the Paula Deen seasoning.  bake the potatoes in a 450 oven for approximately 55 minutes, until the potato skin is crunchy, but the inside is soft when poked with a fork.  Cut open the top of the potato and slip in a little bit of butter to melt.  I top with fat free sour cream.  The seasoning cooked into the skin adds so much flavor.

Home made Croutons

This is one of the yummiest discoveries I've made!!  Home made croutons are so, so much better than store bought ones and are super easy to make!!

So easy!  I buy a loaf of french bread at Wal-Mart.  Cut it up into bite size chunks and arrange on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  I sprinkle olive oil over the chunks of bread and then sprinkle with seasoning.  You can use whatever seasonings you want.  I use pepper and garlic a lot, but have also used season salt.  Any flavor seasoning packet would work.  Bake in a 350 oven for about 10 minutes, or until they look toasted the way you want them.  They're delicious in salads and soups, but really yummy still slightly warm!

Crispy Cheddar Chicken

This delicious recipe was taken from http://jamiecooksitup.blogspot.com/ which has a ton of great recipes!!





Chicken:
4 large chicken breasts
2 sleeves Ritz crackers
1/4 t salt
1/8 t pepper
1/2 C milk
3 C cheddar cheese, grated
1 t dried parsley

Sauce:
1   14 ounce can cream of chicken soup
2 T sour cream
2 T butter
 
1. Cut each chicken breast into 3 large chunks.
2. In a small food processor grind up the ritz crackers.
3. Pour the milk, cheese and cracker crumbs into 3 separate small pans. Toss the 1/4 t salt and 1/8 t pepper into the cracker crumbs and stir the mixture around to combine.
4. Dip each piece of chicken into the milk then the cheese and finally the cracker crumbs.
5. Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray and lay the chicken inside the pan.
6. Sprinkle the dried parsley over the chicken.
7. Cover the pan with tin foil and bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes. Remove the tin foil, bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until the edges of the chicken are golden brown and crispy.
8. Into a medium sized sauce pan combine the cream of chicken soup, sour cream and butter with a whisk. Stir it over medium high heat until the sauce is nice and hot. Serve over the chicken.

Crock Pot Chicken 'n Dumplings

Many thanks to my good friend Erin for this recipe!  I know the picture does not do it justice, but this was a delicious meal!!!  Will be added to the short list of favorites.

The secret is to use the big grands buttermilk biscuits and cook until it's thick.

 2 cups cooked chicken
 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
 2 soup cans water
 4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules
 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
 1 can refrigerated buttermilk biscuits (8 biscuits)

Mix all ingredients, except biscuits, in 4 1/4 quart crock pot slow cooker
Cut biscuits into quarters and gently stir into mixture. Cover and cook on LOW 4 to 6 hours.

Sunday Roast

So I mentioned that I don't get home from church to 2 pm now, and that means super easy Sunday dinners.  Because let's face it....equally as important as the Sunday dinner is the Sunday nap.  So last Sunday, I wanted yummy beef.  Before church, I pulled a roast out of the freezer and prepared it, again focusing on the EASY aspect....meaning a one dish meal.  Soooo......

Rubbed the roast with my handy dandy Paula Deen seasoning mix and put it in the middle of a foil covered roasting pan.  Slice an onion into thin slices and place on the roast.  Cut several red potatoes into quarters and place around the roast.  Then I drizzled olive oil over the potatoes, sprinkled more of my trusty PD seasoning over the potatoes, and slid the whole thing into the oven at 350 until the roast was medium rare, the way we like it, which was about 90 minutes.  I served the meal with a yummy green salad.  Easy, delicious one pan meal!!

French Breakfast Muffins

Thank you Pinterest, for this amazing recipe!!  This was stolen from this fun blog, which has now become a favorite of mine.  And these muffins....oooh boy.....they are every bit as delicious as advertised!!  Made for Saturday morning breakfast, and they were snacked on by all members of the household all day til they were gone.  A weekend must!

  1/3 c. butter, melted
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg (preferably room temperature)
1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 c. milk

Topping (option: cut topping in half*)
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. butter, melted
1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a medium-large bowl, sift together all dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and stir until combined, but still a bit lumpy. Don't overmix. Scoop batter into muffin tins that have sprayed with cooking spray. Using a large ice cream scoop, I got 8 medium-large muffins out of this batter; I think you could get 10-12 muffins by distributing the batter a little less generously. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until they just start to turn a bit golden at the edges.

For the topping, mix sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Place melted butter in another small bowl. Dip the warm muffins in melted butter (you can dip just the top, but it's even tastier to dip the whole muffin!), then dip/roll the muffin in cinnamon sugar. *May have left-over topping; the extra topping can be used for dipping, while eating the muffins (oh my). Another option is to cut the topping ingredients in half. CONSUME, ENJOY, GO CRAZY!

I really have been cooking.....sometimes!

Lazy may be able to cook, but apparently, Lazy can't keep up on posting recipes.  The last two weeks have actually be perfect examples of why I love simple, easy recipes.  I have been running like crazy with work, and have even found the time to be super, super sick in the middle of it.  Joy of joys!  So here's some catch ups on recipes.