Chicken Tomato Pasta

by Mom

Robin's Easy Chicken Tomato Pasta

 Prep Time:  15 Min     Cook Time:  30 Min     Ready In:  45 Min

1/2 (16 ounce) package angel hair pasta, thin spaghetti, or rotello

olive oil

2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - chopped

(or 2 cans Kirkland chicken)

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning blend

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 can black olives, quartered and drained

1 (8 ounce) can sliced mushrooms, drained

3 (16 ounce) cans diced tomatoes

1 (8 ounce can) tomato sauce

freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Boil pasta for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain. 

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Sprinkle chicken with Italian herb seasoning, onion powder, seasoned salt, and pepper.   

Add chicken to olive oil and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in minced garlic, drained black olives and mushrooms. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until chicken is golden brown. 

Reduce heat to low. Stir in tomatoes and tomato sauce, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. 

Toss the pasta and chicken mixture together, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, and serve. 

(NOTE:  My additions to original recipe making this one my own were -- an extra can of tomatoes, tomato sauce, minced garlic, pepper, and substituting the two cans of chicken)

Everyone voted this one a keeper!

Tomato Beef Noodle Soups

by Mom

Robin’s Sweet Tomato Beef Noodle Soup

1    lb. extra lean ground beef

½   tea. black pepper

½   tea. salt

3    Tbsp Olive Oil

1    green pepper, cut in bite size

          pieces

3    whole green onions, sliced

          about 1/8 in thin

2    large tomatoes, diced

1    cup frozen sweet corn

1    Tbsp. Better Than Bullion,

 vegetable

1    26 oz can tomato soup

2½ cans water

1 to 1½ cups Country Pasta, home-

          style egg noodles

In a fry pan brown ground beef, add black pepper and salt.  Gently simmer on low while preparing vegetables. 

Warm olive oil in a large pot over medium heat; add green pepper, green onions, tomatoes, and frozen corn, sauté about 5 minutes. 

Drain ground beef; add to vegetables.  Stir in Better than Bullion, simmer 2 minutes.  Mix in tomato soup and simmer 3 minutes. 

Use tomato soup can to measure water - first add 2 full cans, then fill can halfway, swirl water to collect remaining soup from sides and bottom before adding to mixture. 

Add egg noodles.  Bring mixture to a rolling boil. 

Turn heat down enough to keep soup at a gentle boil, covered for ten minutes.  Reduce heat, gently simmer for 20 minutes. 

Serve suggestions:  fresh hot rolls and fresh sliced fruit.  

Easy Tomato Beef Ramen Soup

4 servings          210 calories per serving

½ lb. extra lean ground beef
3 ½ c water
14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes with green chiles, undrained
1 c frozen mixed vegetables
1 t beef bouillon flavoring
2.8 oz. package beef flavored ramen noodles

Brown beef and drain then add water, tomatoes, veggies, bouillon flavoring and flavoring packet from the ramen noodles and bring to a boil.

Break up ramen noodles and add to soup and cook 3-5 minutes then serve.

Breakfast, Anytime?

Mini Breakfast Quiches

 by Mom

I haven’t tried these yet, I plan to try them on an upcoming Saturday.  My friend at work gave me the top version and I found the second on Allrecipes.com  I am looking for good food I can make on Saturday for lunch, then reheat on Tuesday night after I get home from work for dinner.  These muffin tin quiches keep and freeze well and, best of all, I anticipate they taste heavenly.

Ham, Cheese and Spinach Cups

8 Eggs

¾ cups shredded low-fat sharp cheddar cheese

¼ cup shredded Parmesan Cheese

¼ cup cottage cheese

5 oz frozen spinach, defrosted, water squeezed out, and roughly chopped  (Half a standard frozen box of spinach)

1/3 cup roasted red peppers, diced (jarred or make your own)

1/3 cup finely diced ham, Canadian bacon, or crumbled bacon

¼ cup sliced green onion

¼ tsp salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

½ tsp hot sauce

12 foil muffin tin liners, or 12 pieces sliced ham. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  If using ham slices as liner spray muffin tin with non stick cooking spray and place one piece of ham in each well to form a bowl  If using foil liners, spray the insides of the liners with non stick cooking spray.

In a mixing bowl combine all ingredients.  Evenly divide the egg mixture between the 12 ham lined muffin wells (about ¼ cup each) being careful to keep ingredients well dispersed. Fill each well right up to the top 

Place in the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes  The eggs should be puffed and the mixture just barely ‘set’ on top.  Remove from oven, let cool five minutes before serving. 

LEFT OVER TIPS:

Store leftovers in an air tight container in the fridge OR freeze them 

When reheating in the microwave be sure to REMOVE FOIL LINERS. 

Reheat from FROZEN:  Take out of freezer and let thaw overnight in fridge.

When microwaving place quiche on a folded paper towel to drain excess moisture. 

  

Mexican Salsa Cups

24 (2 inch) frozen mini tart shells

6 slices bacon

6 eggs

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons garlic salt

2 teaspoons onion powder

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, for topping

1/2 cup diced green bell pepper

1/2 cup diced red bell pepper

1/2 cup cubed fully cooked ham

1/4 cup salsa

Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F

Place the tart shells into muffin pans and set aside.

Cook the bacon in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate; crumble once cool.

Beat the eggs in a mixing bowl; whisk in the cream, flour, garlic salt, onion powder, chili powder, and cumin until smooth. Stir in the crumbled bacon, 2 cups Cheddar cheese, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, ham, and salsa. Ladle the mixture into the tart shells; sprinkle with 1/2 cup of Cheddar cheese.

Bake in the preheated oven until a knife inserted into the center of the quiche comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.

These could be so fun to experiment with

 for lunch or snacks as well, 

depending on what you like 

in your QUICHE!  

Happy eating =) 

Homemade Refried Beans

This past summer we needed good, healthy meals that wouldn't require us to turn on the oven. We also needed quick lunches. We had a big box of canned beans in food storage, and what ended up happening was a beautiful thing. I was looking through recipes one night and came across a basic refried bean recipe. I thought, "Hmmmm, we can do that." The next day I tried it.

They turned out pretty good, but some tweaking needed to happen. It got better with time, and pretty soon we were trying different kinds of beans for fun. One day I even threw a bag of lentils in the crock pot with the same recipe and we had Lentil Tacos. They were fantastic! 

The idea behind this is to make a huge batch and use it through the week for lunches, or quick dinners. Tacos, burritoes or enchiladas are all fast and easy to assemble. You can even freeze this stuff and pull it out for recipes. It's much better than canned, in my opinion! Our favorite so far has been the black beans.

1/2-1 c. onion

 3-6 cloves of garlic, minced

1-2 T. olive oil or butter

4 oz. can diced green chilies

4 - 15 oz. cans of beans, drained slightly or 1 lb. dried beans (2 cups), soaked overnight

1/4 t. cumin

3/4 t. black pepper

1-2 c. chicken broth or water

Salt to taste (add this last as the chicken broth is salty)

Skillet Version:

Saute onion & garlic in oil until tender. Add chilies, beans and seasonings. Let cook down, adding broth or water as needed. Stir and mash until desired consistency is reached. Taste-test and add salt if needed.

Crock Pot Version:

Dried Beans: Add 6 cups of water (or 3 cups broth/3cups water for more flavor) to a crock pot. Add 2 cups of dried beans- no need to pre-soak for crock pot cooking. 

Canned Beans: Add 2 cups water (or 1 cup broth/1 cup water for more flavor) to the crock pot. Add 4 cans slightly drained beans.

Add the rest of ingredients, minus the salt. Omit oil/butter if desired. Cook on low for 8-10 hours, or until beans are soft. Mash up the beans with a potato masher, draining off excess liquid if necessary. Taste-test and add salt if needed.

Shepherd's Pie

A fall/winter favorite at our house is Shepherd's Pie. Good comfort food that is easy to tweak to your own tastes. I'm including a couple of sauce variations you can try. This can also be done in the crock pot when you need to eat in a hurry, just layer the ingredients and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

3/4-1 lb. ground beef

1 T. olive oil

1/2 c. chopped onion

1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

2 c. grated cheese ( I use 1/2 c. sharp cheddar)

12-16 oz. frozen veggies ( we've tried green beans, mixed veggies, peas, and corn- the favorite is the bag of organic mixed veggies from Costco)

1 - 10 oz. can tomato soup

6 small potatoes, mashed with some of the cooking water

1/2 cup milk

1 t. salt

Start by chopping potatoes and putting them on to boil. In a skillet, brown beef in the oil. Add onion , salt and pepper. Saute until onion is tender. Transfer to a 9x13 baking dish (this is what the recipe calls for, but I have found it fits nicely in an 8x8 square dish). Top meat mixture with frozen veggies. Pour tomato soup over top. Drain potatoes, reserving some liquid, mash. Add milk and salt, spread over soup. Top with cheese.

If you must use instant potatoes, get the potato pearls from the Church cannery. They are excellent.

Sauce variations: 

Brown the beef with 2 T. Worcestershire sauce, 2 T. ketchup, and 3/4 c. of beef broth. Top with veggies and potatoes. Omit the tomato soup.

Brown the beef with 2 T. Worcestershire sauce. Add a packet of brown gravy mix to 1 cup water, stir into browned beef. Omit the tomato soup.

Enjoy!

Mexican Lasagna (Refried Bean Casserole)

Mexican Lasagna

(Refried Bean Casserole)

This layered dinner of awesomeness is similar to lasagna, except with Mexican ingredients. Or if you are boring you can just call it Refried Bean Casserole. This is the easiest recipe I have ever done. And there's a lot of room for your own spin on it.

1-2 cans refried beans

1 can corn

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can pinto beans

cheese

salsa

tortillas

These are only some ingredient suggestions. Others are welcome!

Each ingredient size is approximate and depends on what or how much you want in your lasagna. This will serve around 4-6 people.

1. Layer ingredients as desired in pan (I recommend starting with a tortilla on the very bottom). In case this seems too vague, you put the tortilla in the bottom, add two or three ingredients spread lightly over the top, then another tortilla. Add 2 or 3 other ingredients lightly spread out. Add another tortilla. 2-3 more ingredients. Etc. Continue until it is at desired height. (I recommend ending with a tortilla and sprinkling with cheese. It's crunchy!)

2. Cook at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes (or until it is warm all the way through).

3. Tastes excellent served with lettuce and sour cream.

4. Easy as that!

Egg-Stuffed Zucchini

Egg-Stuffed Zucchini
We found this delicious quick recipe from Nathan's mission president's cookbook we got as a gift. It has quickly become a favorite. Easy and tasty!

4 medium zucchini

1 large tomato

3 beaten eggs

dash of pepper

1/2 C water

2 T butter

1/4 t salt

1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese

Serves 4

1. Half the zucchini lengthwise and scoop out the pulp. Chop up the pulp.

2. Place the zucchini shells cut side down in a large skillet. Add water and simmer covered until tender (approx. 5-6 minutes)

3. Drain and turn cut side up.

4. Meanwhile, cook pulp and tomato in butter until tender (3ish minutes)

5. Add eggs, salt, and pepper.

6. Cook mixture until done.

7. Spoon mixture into zucchini shells and top with cheese.

8. Cover and heat until cheese melts.

9. Eat it!