About 5 years ago the most complicated homemade meals I made were grilled cheese sandwiches or spaghetti. My husband and I were young newlyweds and even though we lived together a year still hadn't ventured outside of the box- literally. We ate a lot of processed foods- Banquet, On-Cor, Homestyle, Stouffers, and more. We also ate A LOT of fast food- didn't help that my husband worked for a major fast food chain.
It wasn't until I had my first child and he started eating table foods that I realized I needed to change how I did things. I very slowly started cooking and baking. However, if a recipe had a lot of ingredients, I immediately ran for the hills and wouldn't try it. Sometime around when I was pregnant with my second son or around the time he was born, things started to change again. No longer were those recipes with tons of ingredients scary. Once I separated out the spices-- which by this point I had accumulated a variety-- the lists weren't so big and bad anymore. After the first trimester ended with my daughter and I had avoided cooking for weeks due to bad morning sickness and sensitivity to smells- especially chicken (I had hide in the bedroom!), my cooking resumed full force. I had missed it!
Now 5 years later, we rarely eat fast food. It is seen as a treat rather than bad meal planning on my part. It is also something we reserve for the difficult days where being a mom to three takes a huge toll and I am just barely keeping the house from falling apart. The only boxes you might find are Kraft Mac and Cheese (because for some reason my homemade stuff isn't good enough for the kids plus it's easier for the hubby). You'll find the freezer filled with ground beef, chicken breasts, french fries, and frozen vegetables instead of pizza rolls, chicken tenders, salisbury steaks (unless it is the homemade variety which I have yet to freeze), etc. Occasionally some ice cream and homemade pancakes. Actually has pumpkin puree and homemade chicken nuggets in it right now!
Don't be afraid to take that step out of your comfort zone. Look a recipe over and separate out what is all spices and what are the main ingredients. A recipe might have 3 main ingredients and the rest are spices. You might come to realize just like I did that a lot of recipes aren't scary or difficult after all.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Crockpot Cream Cheese Chicken Chili
Another Pinterest recipe that was suggested to me and looked good so I figured why not? This is the link to the original: http://rita-may-recipes.blogspot.com/2011/11/crock-pot-cream-cheese-chicken-chile.html
This recipe is very spicy so the next time I do this I plan to only do half the amount of the cumin and chili powder originally called for in the recipe. My kids and I don't like spicy much- them less than me. I also made my own ranch dressing mix: http://selfreliancebyjamie.blogspot.com/2011/08/tis-seasonings.html. You would use three tablespoons to equal one prepackaged mix. We served over rice.
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2 chicken breasts, still frozen
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 can corn kernels, do not drain
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 pkg. Ranch dressing mix
1 T cumin
1 t chili powder
1 t onion powder
1 8-oz pkg. cream cheese
_________
Put the chicken in the crock pot.
Top with the tomatoes, corn,
the drained and rinsed beans,
ranch dressing, cumin, onion and chili powders,
stir to combine then top with the cream cheese.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours, stirring one or twice
to blend in the cheese.
Shred the chicken into large pieces
and serve over rice.
Can also serve in tortillas or taco shells.
(Serves 4)
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This recipe is very spicy so the next time I do this I plan to only do half the amount of the cumin and chili powder originally called for in the recipe. My kids and I don't like spicy much- them less than me. I also made my own ranch dressing mix: http://selfreliancebyjamie.blogspot.com/2011/08/tis-seasonings.html. You would use three tablespoons to equal one prepackaged mix. We served over rice.
Print This Recipe
2 chicken breasts, still frozen
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 can corn kernels, do not drain
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 pkg. Ranch dressing mix
1 T cumin
1 t chili powder
1 t onion powder
1 8-oz pkg. cream cheese
_________
Put the chicken in the crock pot.
Top with the tomatoes, corn,
the drained and rinsed beans,
ranch dressing, cumin, onion and chili powders,
stir to combine then top with the cream cheese.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours, stirring one or twice
to blend in the cheese.
Shred the chicken into large pieces
and serve over rice.
Can also serve in tortillas or taco shells.
(Serves 4)
.JPG)
Monday, December 17, 2012
Fiesta Chicken Casserole
So I was browsing Pinterest and stumbled across this recipe. It has chicken, it has cheese, and some pasta. All things I love so of course I have to give it a try. It didn't link back to the original source so I can't give credit, but here is the recipe. Pretty easy! I used mild cheddar because I missed the part where I needed the pepper jack cheese blend. It is a little spicy so I think next time I will leave the green chilies out and just use the Rotel. My kids do not like spicy at all.
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Fiesta Chicken Casserole:
2 cups chicken breast grilled & cubed
2 cups medium shell pasta cooked
2 cups cheddar/jack cheese blend
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 can Rotel
1 can green chilies
1/2 cup of milk
Cover with cheese salt and pepper to taste! Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.
Print this Recipe
Fiesta Chicken Casserole:
2 cups chicken breast grilled & cubed
2 cups medium shell pasta cooked
2 cups cheddar/jack cheese blend
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 can Rotel
1 can green chilies
1/2 cup of milk
Cover with cheese salt and pepper to taste! Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.
Enjoy!
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Crispy Cheddar Chicken
It has been awhile since I have done a new recipe! Okay, I may have, but I either forgot or didn't like them so I didn't bother posting.
I stumbled across: http://jamiecooksitup.net/2011/10/crispy-cheddar-chicken/ on Pinterest. Looks delicious just from the pictures.
A few things I would change from the original recipe. I didn't have grated cheddar cheese so this time I used shredded. In the future, I would use grated parmesan since I always have it on hand. I would also start with 1 cup of grated cheese and 1/2 sleeve of crackers. Maybe even use 1 cup Panko bread crumbs instead.
Also when I made the sauce, the butter just seemed to sit as an oil on the surface so I could probably omit that step. Stay tuned in the future for when I do my revamped version of this. In my opinion, it is a hybrid of Parmesan Oven Fried Chicken and Cheesy Chicken Crescent rolls.
Print this Recipe
Here is the recipe:
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.
Enjoy!
I stumbled across: http://jamiecooksitup.net/2011/10/crispy-cheddar-chicken/ on Pinterest. Looks delicious just from the pictures.
A few things I would change from the original recipe. I didn't have grated cheddar cheese so this time I used shredded. In the future, I would use grated parmesan since I always have it on hand. I would also start with 1 cup of grated cheese and 1/2 sleeve of crackers. Maybe even use 1 cup Panko bread crumbs instead.
Also when I made the sauce, the butter just seemed to sit as an oil on the surface so I could probably omit that step. Stay tuned in the future for when I do my revamped version of this. In my opinion, it is a hybrid of Parmesan Oven Fried Chicken and Cheesy Chicken Crescent rolls.
Print this Recipe
Here is the recipe:
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.
Enjoy!
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