Cheesy, Broccoli Tator Tot Casserole

Hello everyone! I haven't posted any recipes in a long time....gotta lot of catching up to do! This casserole is so easy and it usually goes over pretty well with kids. It even has mushroom soup in it...but they won't know! As a new parent I have come to learn the joy of hiding healthy foods into meals.

Ingredients: 1 lb. ground beef
                    1 can of cream of mushroom soup
                   Bag of tator tots
                   Fresh Broccoli, chopped
                   Package of shredded mozzarella cheese

   The cheese could have probably been melted a little bit more, but I was STARVING at the time and couldn't wait! :)

Directions:  So first just brown your meat and drain the grease. While you are doing that, boil the water for your broccoli and cook until tender. Then, drain it and set aside. Add the cream of mushroom soup to the meat. Lightly grease a 9x13 pan and pour the meat/soup mixture into the pan. Then, spread the cooked broccoli over it, then the next layer is the cheese. (only use 1/2 of the package)
  Then, just dump the whole package of tator tots on top. Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes. Then sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top and bake it an additonal 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted...or in my case...until you can't take it anymore and you just gotta eat!

Servings: It's so hard for me to figure the servings out because I think my family eats more than the average household! haha..we're hungry! but I would say like 4-6 people.

Stuffed Baked Potatoes

This was something I just randomly put together one day. It turned out really good. It's super easy, something different and pretty healthy too!

Ingredients: Potatoes (I only made 2...but it will make up to 4 or 5 I would say if you are using a whole pound of ground turkey.)
                  1 lb. of ground turkey (or ground chicken)
                  1 onion, chopped
                 Fresh broccoli, chopped (about 1 head's worth)
                 Red pepper, chopped
                  Shredded cheese
                 BBQ sauce
                *Foil

Directions: So first, call your mom and ask her what to preheat the oven to for baked potatoes. Haha! I put this, because no matter how many times I ever make baked potatoes I can NEVER remember what to bake them at. So, for documentation purposes, my mom says preheat oven to 425! (what would I do without her?!) Wrap your potatoes up good in foil and poke some holes in the top with a fork. *Sometimes you really gotta stab it pretty good through the foil to get through....also good for a little anger management, lol.* :)
     Then, cook those in the oven until they are soft....when you can squeeze the sides and feel it's soft...It usually takes a good 45 minutes.
    While the potatoes are baking, you can brown your meat, drain the grease and set aside.
Also, boil your chopped broccoli in water until soft, then drain the water and set aside.
 When the potatoes are done, just unwrap them from the foil, slice them in half and top with the meat, bbq sauce, onion, peppers, broccoli and shredded cheese.

*Serves about 4-5, but the great thing about these is you can do as many or as few as you want. :)
 
                 

BBQ Chicken Wraps with Crunchy Oriental Cole Slaw

Me and my husband actually came up with this idea one night when we were both really hungry. He wanted BBQ chicken and I actually wanted a salad....but this is what we came up with, and it was really good!

Ingredients: 2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
                   Your favorite bbq sauce
                   Tortillas
                   
*For the slaw:   Package of coleslaw mix (16oz)
                         6-8 green onions, chopped
                          1/2 cup butter
                          1 head of broccoli, cut into pieces (cut most of the stem off too)
                           2 (3 oz.) packages chicken flavored ramen noodles
                         1 cup slivered almonds
                           1 cup unsalted sunflower seeds
                         1/2 cup sugar
                          1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
                         1/2  cup olive oil
                         1 tsp. soy sauce

               The cole slaw is really good by itself too! It would make a good side item :)

Directions: For the bbq chicken, just boil your chicken in water on the stove until done. Then, just shred it or cut it into pieces and pour bbq sauce on top.
   For the slaw:   Get a HUGE bowl and dump the coleslaw mix, chopped green onions and broccoli pieces in. Set aside.
    Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Crumble the ramen noodles into a bowl, and mix with the almonds and sunflower seeds. Sprinkle the seasoning packets that came with the noodles in there. Then, add it all to the skillet. Cook and stir until the noodles and nuts are toasted. (about 8 minutes)
   In a jar with a tight lid, combine the sugar, vinegar, olive oil, and soy sauce. Seal it and shake hard to blend together.
    Right before serving, combine the slaw mixture with the nuts and noodles. Pour the dressing over all, and stir briefly to coat.

* Get a tortilla, put some bbq chicken in it, and top with the coleslaw. yum!

*Serving size: For the actual meal as a wrap...it will make about 4-6 (since we only had 2-3 chicken breasts) but the coleslaw makes a TON!

Roasted Tomato, Spinach & Asiago Pasta with Chicken

I've had this recipe for years now and it's always good. I usually make it in the summer, and have my hubby make the chicken on the grill, but the kitchen skillet is just as good! :) Even though it's pasta, it's a light dish because it doesn't have thick sauces or anything like that.

Ingredients: 3 cups of cherry tomatoes, halved
                   1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
                   2 T. olive oil
                   2 tsp. minced garlic
                   1 tsp. salt n' pepper
                   Bag of spinach leaves (I never use quite the whole bag)
                  1 pkg. of thin spaghetti (I always get the fiber wheat kind)
                  Block of asiago cheese (unless you can find it shredded....I never can)
                  Pine nuts
                  2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Directions: Preheat oven to 400. Cut the cherry tomatoes in halves and toss with the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic, and salt and pepper. Spread on a foil lined baking sheet. Roast for about 20-30 minutes or until shriveled and brown.
    While those are cooking, you can cook your chicken however you like. I always just put a little seasoning on the chicken and either grill it outside on the grill or inside on the skillet.
  Prepare your pasta as usual.
 Then, when the tomatoes are done, scrape them into a bowl and add the spinach leaves. It usually ends up being about 4 cups worth, but put as much as you want.
  Then, when the pasta is done, toss it with the spinach mixture. Add the pine nuts, sliced chicken, and grate asiago cheese on top. :)

Vanilla Sauce for Pancakes

Mmmmm.....this one is really good! What a great substitution for syrup! yum, yum! If you're making bacon too, I recommend throwing it in the oven so you don't have to deal with frying it on the stove and it popping all over you while you're trying to flip pancakes!

Ingredients: 2 T cornstarch
                   1/3 cup sugar
                   1/8 tsp. salt
                   2 cups milk
                   2 egg yolks, beaten
                   1 T. butter (melted)
                   2 tsp. vanilla
                  Strawberries (or your favorite fresh fruit)

Directions: Mix the cornstarch, sugar and salt in a pan. Whisk the milk and egg yolks together and gradually stir into pan. Cook on MEDIUM until it comes to a boil. Don't turn up the heat, because you don't want the egg to cook! It takes awhile, but just keep stirring it until it does. Let it boil for one minute, then remove from heat and stir in the butter and vanilla. Pour on top of pancakes and top with strawberries, or your favorite fruit  :)

Chocolate Pretzel Melts

I got this recipe from my mother in law Pam. (I've seen them on pinterest too...but seriously what's NOT on there!!) These are the easiest things to make ever! Plus, they are so super cute. It's a really great appetizer/snack for any party. I made some for the superbowl, so I did blue and red colored m&m's. But you could do any theme! ( blue/pink for baby showers, etc!) Thank you Pam! :)

Ingredients: Bag of pretzels (the regular "pretzel" shaped kind)
                   Bag of hershey kisses*any kind you want!* I have used the cookies and cream kind and the regular ones
                    M&M's (just the regular kind)
                   *Or if you are doing the pretzel "sandwich" kinds all you need is pretzels and hershey kisses

Directions: So all you have to do is preheat your oven to 270. Then, just put a whole bunch of pretzels on a cookie sheet (grease it a little) and place a hershey kiss over each pretzel. Bake for about 5 minutes (or until you see the chocolate is soft). Immediately after you remove from oven you can either top each one with an m&m or make a "sandwich" and press another pretzel on top. Both ways are yummy!
    Just let them cool on the cookie sheet until they harden up.....or if you can't wait, just throw them in the refrigerator for awhile.
*Awesome because you can make as many or as few as you want! Plus with all the different flavors of hershey kisses out there, it makes for so many options! :)

The Best Brownie Topping

Brownies are awesome, but when you pair it with this topping they are even better! It's a cream cheese mixture with fresh berries on top....yum yum!

Ingredients: Your favorite brownie mix
                    8 oz. cream cheese, softened
                    1/3 cup sugar
                    1/2 tsp. vanilla
                   1/2 cup apple jelly
                   Fresh strawberries, raspberries and blueberries

Directions: So first, just make the brownies according to the box you got. When it's done, let it completely cool. (it takes about 1 hour or so) In a bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and the apple jelly until smooth. Spread over the brownie and top with the fresh fruit. Refrigerate about 1 hour or until chilled.
:)