3/1/2012 - 3/15/2012 using whats left

we had a ton of left overs in our fridge so we are not trying new things instead just using whats left...so for the next 15 days there will not be many posts if any sorry!

2/22/12 -Italian chicken wraps!

Yummy in my tummy!!! I'm eating as I type this. It was easy fast and yummy!!! It made a lot so were gonna add rice to it tommrrow and enjoy left overs!

Italian chicken wrap
1 package 16 oz frozen stir fry veggies
2 packages already ready grilled chicken (I used 9 oz packages)
1/3 cup Italian salad dressing
1/4 cup cheese maybe more
6 flour tortias or wraps we used soft taco shells

Cook veggies according to package fully then drain

Add in chicken dressing and cheese

Wrap up in tortias!

2/21/2012 - Italian Panko pork chops

***No picture ***
Justin wasn't feeling good, and I was getting my nails removed so taking a picture slipped my mind! This was a plain recipe...not much flavor shaken bake would have been way better

Italian Panko crusted pork chops
4 boneless chops
1 cup Panko
3 tablespoon parm
Salt and pepper

Bake 350 20-30 mins

2/15/2012 -dinner out - the sushi place

Justin had a 24 hour duty shift on valentines day so we celebrate on the 15th. Justin's favorite food that I don't like is sushi. Knowing we were gonna be on post I agreed to try this new place called the sushi place. I looked at their menu online they had several options for non sushi eaters. We went at lunch time so service was a little slow but they also just opened the Sunday prior. We got the lunch combination. 1 appetizer 2 rolls (from a shorten list of rolls) and a desert
For appetizer we got gyozas (6) these were fried dumplings with your choice of meat (beef pork shrimp chicken or veggie) we got chicken. They were amazing to me! Justin got the 2 rolls one a California and the other was no name. The no name was a lot bigger than we thought. As for desert we got an ice cream dish similar to deep fried ice cream it was really good. Our total was $25 we got lots of sushi for that! Next time we are going to order separate and maybe only one roll because it was a lot even for my bottom less pit of a hubby.

2/17/2012 -slow cooker lemon pepper chicken & potatoes

This is my first post Via iPhone. Tonight was chicken because I had a large family size chicken breast pack that I needed to split.

I found the recipe for lemon pepper chicken via pinterest however I adjusted it! I also wanted potatoes with it so I thought I could cook it all at once I used our speedy cooker! I cooked it on low at first them bumped it up! it really looks like a soup or stew! We served it as chicken and potatoes just draining broth as we served it. I stored extra by draining broth and placing in freezer bag.

Lemon pepper chicken and potato mix
3 medium red potatoes (sliced and cubed small pieces)
Carrots (5 baby carriers sliced)
1 medium onion
1/8 cup lemon pepper seasoning
Dash of salt, parsley, and paprika
2 cans of chicken broth low sodium
3 garlic cloves

1. Rinse and pat dry chicken
2. Mix lemon pepper, paprika, salt, and parsley in a small bowl
3. Cover chicken with seasoning mix
4. Place potatoes carrot one can of broth and little bit of onion in bottom of slow cooker
5. add chicken to top of veggie mix poor other can of broth rest of onions and garlic to top of chicken
6. Let cook for 3-4 hours until potatoes ate soft and chicken is fully cooked

2/16/2012 - Stuffed manicotti

Pasta night :-) Last night was a fend for your self after the big lunch we had at the sushi place! tonight I kinda took the kitchen in my control! I like to cook but and usually nervous and never do it alone tonight i did only time i needed help was to tell if the meat was done! we pretty much doubled everything because we had a whole pound of hamburger! this was fairly easily. the meat mixture was a little too soupy which made it super hard to stuff those silly shells! when pooring the meat over top it looks like a ton of extra. I put way too much cheese on top of the shells also this was a tad too greesy and up set my stomach really easily. However it was good seasoned perfectly not soupy once baked.

Stuffed manicotti
source (magazine I cant remember which one)
Ingredients
4 manicotti shells
½ lb ground beef
1 small onion, finely chopped
½ medium green pepper finely chopped
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1 to 1 ½ tsp oregano
1 tsp thyme
1 cup mozzarella cheese

Directions
1. Cook shells according to package directions meanwhile in a large skillet cook the beef, onion, and green pepper over medium heat until meat is no longer pin; drain. Stir in tomato sauce. Oregano and thyme; bring to a boil reduce heat simmer uncovered for 10 mins. Add ½ cu cheese stir until melted
2. Stuff half of meat mixture into manicotti shells; arrange in a greased 8-in square baking dish spoon remaining meat over shells
3. Bake uncovered for 20 mins at 325 sprinkle with remaining cheese bake 5 - 10 mins longer or until heated through and cheese is melted

2/13/2012 - heaty chicken pot pie!

This was really good compared to what we had the other night! This was AMAZING! there was a few things I would change about it and i will next time. Again we used the precooked ready to eat chicken that's typically in salads. we used about 3 cups of chicken little less onion and mushrooms than it called for but everything else we followed to a T. I made this in a 9" pie pan and took what was left of the mix and froze it so that in a few weeks we can just take it out and maybe make mini pot pies :-) we didn't feel there was enough salt so i would say more salt next time! this could also be because i used a low sodium fat free broth.

Hearty chicken pot pie
Source: Taste of homes
Ingredients
1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed chicken broth
1 1/3 cups water, divided
4 medium carrots, thinly sliced (about 1 ½ cups)
3 medium red potatoes, scrubbed and diced (1 ½ cups)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups quarter medium mushrooms
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 cup frozen peas
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 (15 oz) package refrigerated pie crusts
2 ½ cups chopped cooked chicken

Directions
1. Combine broth, 1 cup water, carrots and potatoes in a medium sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until tender about 10 min.
2. Preheat oven to 425 heats the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened. Stir in the broth mixture and peas. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Whisk remaining water with flour until smooth. Whisk flour mixture into vegetable mixture boil, until thickened remove from heat
3. Un roll 1 pie crust onto a floured surface measure and roll if necessary to fit 1 inch larger than a shallow 2 quart baking dish line the baking dish with crust
4. Stir the chicken into the vegetable mixture and pore into the baking dish place the reaming crust over the filling trim and flute edge cut a scalloped round center back until filling is bubbly and crust is browned. (20 mins)

2/11/2012 - herb stuffed burgers with fries

Again I can't remember where i got this one from. I wanted something different than traditional burgers and fries. This was pretty simple. However we didn't feel that the mixture for the beef was enough by eye balling it so we added more we doubled that part. The cheese seemed to go pretty far we were able to make 2 tiny burgers (my size) and 3 rather large burgers. The cheese lasted through all of them. we cooked them on the George foreman and they seemed to fall apart pretty fast and also were rather hard to tell if they were fully cooked. However, out on the grill it would cook a lot faster and would be easier to tell

at the first few bites i thought it was good. but then i got to the cheese I DID NOT LIKE IT!! matter a fact i couldnt eat it with out gagging! so with that said this is a never again

Herb & cheese-stuffed burgers

Ingredients
¼ cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 TBSP cream cheese softened
2 TBSP minced fresh parsley
3tsp Dijon mustard
2 green onions thinly sliced
3TBSP bread crumbs
2 TBSP ketchup
½ tsp salt
½ tsp rosemary
¼ tsp sage
1lb lean ground beef
4 rolls
Lettuce and tomato
Direction
1. In a small bowl, combine cheddar cheese, cream cheese, parsley and 1tsp mustard; set aside
2. In another bowl, combine the onions, bread crumbs, ketchup, salt, rosemary, sage, and remaining mustard. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into 8 thin patties. Spoon cheese mixture onto center of four patties top with remaining patties and press edges firmly to seal
3. Grill burgers, cover, over medium heat or broil 4 inc from hat for 5-7 mins on each side until a meat thermometer reads 160 and juices run clear. Serve burgers on roll with lettuce and tomato

2/10/2012 - chicken enchiladas

justin was sick and now i'm sick there for i'm a little behind on the food blog opps! we have really been in the mood for enchiladas lately. This recipie is from one of my cook books / magazines however i dont remember what one and i'm too sick to get up and look. this made 6 enchiladas for us, and my only negative was the shells were just breaking into pieces trying to wrap them, also the sauce was a little blan for us. we thought it was also too thin, we knew next time 1/2 broth same amount of water, and a cup in a half enchilada sauce. I precooked my chicken in the crock pot for 3 hours, we used a package of boneless thighs, with 2 cups of water and then shredded the amount that it called for.

CHICKEN ENCHILADAS

1/3 cup peanut oil
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup flour
13 1/4 ounces chicken broth
1 2/3 cups water
1/2 cup enchilada sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups cooked chicken, diced
1/4 cup black olives, pitted and sliced
8 7" corn tortillas

Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat; add onion and garlic and cook until tender. Stir in flour, mixing until smooth.
Gradually add chicken broth, water and enchilada sauce, mixing until smooth. Stir in chili powder and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick. Reserving 1/2 cup cheese, mix remaining cheese with chicken and olives.
Dip corn tortillas in prepared sauce for about 5 seconds. Spoon 3 tablespoons chicken filling across center of each; roll up and place seam side down, in a shallow 2 1/2-quart baking dish.
Pour remaining sauce over tortillas. Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with reserved cheese and continue baking 10 minutes. Garnish with sliced ripe olives if desired and serve immediately.
Makes 4 servings.

2/3/2012 - classic Lasagna roll ups

so for the next pay period I deiced to break out the cook books! we have a lot of cook books so i spent 2 days flipping through the books and magazines! Justin has wanted lasagna for a while but its a lot of dairy and I've been putting it on the back burner. well then when I saw this recipe when looking I was like well that doesn't sound too bad! to us it wasn't enough sauce and too much cheese we are gonna try again with more sauce and the same amount of cheese! This was really easy to make and good!!! different from traditional lasagna.

Classic Lasagna Roll up
source: taste of homes - card (we got it through a magazine)

Classic Lasagna Rolls
Ingredients:
12 lasagna noodles
1lb ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic
1 (26 oz) jar pasta sauce with herbs
1 (15 oz)ricotta cheese
1 ¼ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
½ cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 coat a 13 x 9 inch baking dish with non stick cooking spray
2. Cook the noodles according to the package directions drain lay the noodles flat on waxed paper
3. Cook the beef, onion and garlic in a medium skillet over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until meat is browned and crumbly. Drain add pasta sauce bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Spread 2 cups of sauce mixture into baking dish
4. Mix the ricotta and 1 cup mozzarella in a bowl spread about 3 tablespoon mixture evenly over each lasagna noodle
5. Roll up the noodles tightly place seam side down over the sauce in the baking dish. Spoon the remaining sauce over the rolls. Sprinkle with the parmesan bake the rolls until heated through and bubbly about 30 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella. Let stand for 5 mins

2/1/2012 - fast easy creamy chicken

I lost the source of where I got this recipe from. I saved it to my pintreset and now its delete so I have the recipe but no source. This was good, fast, and easy. I started dinner at 5, again we used chicken that was precooked the kind that goes in salads. I just cut the strips into smaller pieces. this helped save time. I cooked about 3 cups of the egg noodles and closer to 3 cups of the chicken. I did add a little extra milk because it was really thick and wasn't mixing very well its really easy and tasty! I forgot to take a picture but ill do that at lunch

Fast easy creamy chicken

Ingredients:
3 cups egg noodles
2 cups cooked chicken (i used almost 3 cups and I used pre-cooked salad kind)
1/2 grated Parmesan cheese
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup of milk (i used about a cup of milk)

Direction
1. Cook noodles as directed
2. combine everything into pan warm till soup mixture is bubbling
3. sprinkle with parsley if desired.