Warm Bean Dip

This recipe is a great side dish to taco night or as an appetizer on its own. It is so creamy and completely delicious.

What you need:
2 cans Refried Beans
1 package Taco Seasoning
1 Cup Sour Cream
1 (8oz) package Cream Cheese (softened)
2 Cups Shredded Cheese

In a large bowl, mix softened cream cheese and sour cream.

Add both cans of beans and taco seasoning.  Mix well.

Cover with cheese and bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

Beautiful!

Chinese Chicken Salad

Several years ago, one of my childhood friends offered to make Chinese food. She made the most amazing salad and we have been addicted since. We generally make a meal off of this salad and fried rice. I am happy to share this super easy recipe so you can enjoy it too.

Note - it is not a healthy salad.:-)

 

 What you will need:

3 cups chopped chicken (cooked.  I boil mine)
3 cups (and sometimes more..I'll explain later) Shredded Cabbage
1 bunch green onions
2 packs Ramen Noodles (chicken flavor) and seasoning packets
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup oil (canola or any salad oil)
1 teaspoon Accent
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Pepper
6 tablespoons White Vinegar
4 tablespoons Sugar

 In a large bowl, add shredded cabbage.  I always buy pre-shredded to save time but you can shred your own.

 Next, add chopped onion tops (only the green).  If you aren't a big fan of green onion, you can add less.

Then add your spices.  But, don't add the white vinegar or oil yet.

 Meanwhile, in a pot melt the butter.  Crush the Ramen noodles and add them to the butter.

 Stir occasionally allowing the noodles to toast a bit.  The noodles add a nice crunch to the salad.

Then, add your cooked chicken and toasted noodles to the bowl. Add white vinegar and oil. Mix very well. Generally, I feel like mine is really oily so I had more cabbage (sometimes double what it calls for) but you can add or not just based on how you like it.

Taco Pasta

I found this recipe at one of my favorite recipe blogs - Emily Bites. I love her recipes. They are healthy alternatives but using real food and she even features Weight Watchers Points Plus. I adapted the recipe just a little bit to suit our taste and this recipe got the Hubs' seal of approval! Super easy and flavorful!

The ingredients:
Whole Wheat Pasta (we used penne but next time I'm using shells), Taco Seasoning, Rotel (actually 2 cans), Cheese, Light Sour Cream.  And of course I forgot to include the hamburger meat.

Brown about 1lb of hamburger meat.  Next time I am adding diced onions for more flavor.
When finished, drain and rinse.

Add 1 oz pack of taco seasoning, 1/4 cup water, and two cans of Rotel (I didn't drain for extra spice).

Add pasta.  Looks yummy already!

Add about 1 1/2 cups of your favor cheeses and allow to melt.  I used the Taco mix but suit your own tastes.
Add 1/4 cup of Sour Cream.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Full Recipe:

8 oz wheat pasta
1 lb 95% lean ground beef
1 oz packet reduced sodium taco seasoning
2 cans Rotel
½ c water
¼ c fat free sour cream
1 1/2 cups cheese
Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

1.    Cook pasta according to package instructions.

2.    While pasta is cooking, cook the ground beef until brown. When the beef is cooked, drain any grease from pan. Add the taco seasoning, rotel and water and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes or until pasta is done cooking.

3.    Once pasta is done, drain pasta and add it to the beef mixture. Add the sour cream, cheese, salt and pepper and stir to combine. Cheese will be nice and melted.  Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Steak Sandwiches

Hubs came up with this idea after reading one of his favorite books. The main character ordered a steak sandwich and fries. This idea led to the creation of this sandwich. So flavorful!

 Ingredients:

 1-2 lbs Sirloin Steak (just use your favorite)

Yellow Onion - Sliced

Lawry's Seasoning Salt

Worcestershire Sauce

Black Pepper

Hoagie or Sub Rolls

First, use a little oil (we use EVOO) and cook up the steak.  Put about a tablespoon of Lawry's and Pepper on the steak as it cooks.

When the steak is done, set it aside on a plate to drain the grease.  Use the same pan and...

 

Sautee the onions until they are limp and semi-translucent.  Add more Lawry's and Pepper.

Add the steak back to the onions to simmer together.

Add 1/4 cup (or more!) of Worcestershire Sauce.

Let this simmer for 10-15 minutes.  Very flavorful!!

We also lightly toasted our buns in the steak/onion skillet.

There you have it.

 

Hubs and I used a little bit of mayo to "wet the bread" and these sandwiches were delicious!

Very hearty.  Very savory.  Very mouthwatering!

 

Savory Chicken and Rice

2 cups Minute Rice

1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup

2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup

4 chicken breasts

12 ounces Sharp Cheddar Cheese (Sliced or Shredded)

1 Box Stove Top Stuffing Chicken Flavor (6 oz box)

1 cup Melted Butter

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.

In small bowl, mix soups together with rice.  Spoon into 9x13 baking pan and place chicken on top of rice.

Cover and bake for 40 minutes.

Take chicken and rice out of the oven.  Sprinkle (or place) cheese over chicken, covering as evenly as possible.

Sprinkle stuffing mix (dry) onto chicken, rice, and cheese.  Drizzle melted butter evenly over the top.

Bake for another 40 minutes, uncovered, until cheese is melted and stuff mix is browned at edges.

Fajitas with Homemade Seasoning

I love onions.

And I love green bell peppers.

Ingredients:
2-3 Green Bell Peppers
2-3 Onions
Fajita Mix (below)
Chicken or Steak Strips
 

Chop veggies into bit size pieces.

Heat 1/4 cup oil in skillet.  Add chicken and cool over medium-high heat until done. 
Add veggies.

Add fajita mix and a cup of water.
Heat over medium-high heat until veggies become soft.

Enjoy!

I love making homemade seasonings. I love a little extra kick! 

Homemade Fajita Mix
2 Tbsp Chili Powder
1 Tbsp Salt
1 Tbsp Paprika
1 Tbsp Sugar
1/2 Tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 Tsp Cayenne Pepper
1/4 Tsp Red Pepper

Cajun Chicken Pasta

We have been craving pasta around here lately. I searched and found several recipes and sort of made up my own. This decadent dish is wonderful and can easily fit various taste buds!

What you Need....
3-4 pieces of Boneless, Skinless Chicken
1/4 Chicken Broth
1 1/4 Cup Heavy Cream
3 tsp Butter
Cajun Seasoning (I use Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning)
Pasta (I used fetticini but different kinds were work as well)
2 Cups Italian Cheeses (use your favorites or a mixture like I did

First...Wash chicken and pat dry.
Then cover the chicken with plastic wrap (or in my case, two cut up sandwich bags)
then pound until fairly thin.  You will want the chicken thin enough so it will cook evenly in a skillet.

Next, use your cajun seasoning (as much or little as you would like.  I was generous.)
Then I sort of did a rub so the chicken was well coated.

Heat skillet to Medium-High Heat and melt 2 tsp butter.

Also, begin to cook pasta.  Cook until al dente.  Set aside.

Cook the chicken in the skillet until both sides are good and brown.
I didn't pound mine as thin as I should so I cut mine to
ensure it was done.
Remove chicken and set aside.

In the chicken skillet, add the chicken broth.

Next add the heavy cream.
Mix.

Add the last bit of butter and stir until melted.

Meanwhile....cut up chicken into bite size pieces.
now I will see that I almost stopped here.  The rubbed and skillet cooked chicken
was soooo good!

Back to the skillet, add 2 cups of cheese and mix until cheese
is completely melted.

Add fettuccine and mix well so all of the pasta is well coated.

Lastly, add the chicken.

Now, if you notice I forgot to take a picture of the completely finished product - it was that good!!! I served it with mozzarella garlic bread. Hubs ate two bowls of pasta! You can add more cajun spice if you wish. It was not overly spicy at all. Just right. We will be making this again!