Southwestern Chicken Rotini

I just made this one up and it was really good.  Next time you're in a pinch for food and have to work with what you've got try throwing things together in a stodge podge.  You can either end up with something awesome or something awful, in my experience it ends up awesome!  Give this one a shot.

SOUTHWESTERN CHICKEN ROTINI
Prep time:  5 Minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
1 Can of chunk white chicken( I know this stuff looks gross but it a quick alternative to cooking a chicken breast)
1/2 cup of black bean salsa
3-4 teaspoons of grated parmesan
2 tablespoons of butter
1/2 a box of whole wheat rotini(any pasta works really)

- Boil the pasta as directed on the box.  I never cook my pasta Al dente but it up to you. 
- While the Pasta is boiling open the can of chicken and drain it.  Cut it into smaller pieces and fry it in a small pan with some olive oil.
- Once the chicken is heated through add about 2 tablespoons of the black bean salsa to the chicken and mix well.  Let it cook for a minute or two until the salsa has been absorbed. 
- When its done drain the pasta in a strainer and transfer it back to the pot.  Throw the butter in on top and mix.
- Add the chicken and the rest of the salsa to the pasta and mix thoroughly. 
- Mix in the parmesan cheese and your done! 

This is great by itself or as a spicy side to any Mexican dish.  You can definitely substitute real chicken for the canned stuff if you have the time, in fact I recommend it.

Happy eating!

Baked Chicken Casserole

This is a staple in our house.  It's delicious and simple and baking time gives you tons of time to wash your prep dishes(or post on your blog).  It's easy to change up from time to time by using different veggies.  During the summer I tend to use fresh broccoli which tastes so much better but frozen veggies like corn or carrots or peas work too.

ONE DISH BAKED CHICKEN CASSEROLE
Prep time:  15 minutes
Cook time:  35 minutes
Ingredients:
3-4 chicken breasts about 1 to 1.5 pounds
1 can cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup
1 box of stuffing(stove top)
2 large heads of broccoli
1/3 cup of milk

-Preheat oven to 375 Degrees
-Prepare the stuffing mix as directed on the package, this usually consists of boiling water and a ridiculous amount of butter then adding the stuffing, for a little healthier option use half the amount of butter.  Set aside.
-Dice chicken into small bite sized pieces
-Cut broccoli into bite size pieces(use a different knife and cutting board than the chicken!)
-In a 13X9 baking dish mixed uncooked chicken, soup, milk and veggies until the bottom of the dish is coated evenly.
-Spread stuffing on top of mixture until spread evenly over the top of the chicken mixture.
-Bake for 35 minutes at 375 and its done. 

I sometimes change this one up by adding some shredded cheese to the chicken mixture and I always pull a larger chunk of chicken out and cut it up to make sure its cooked all the way through.  This one really is a piece of cake and my kids love it.  Its really good for a cold winter evening.

Hope you enjoy this with your family!

Super Easy Spaghetti sauce

SO I don't go all out and make my own sauce from hand picked tomatoes or anything like that but don't like the taste of straight off the shelf spaghetti sauce either.  My kids love spaghetti and meatballs and I have messed around with this recipe time and time again, it still may change but this is the recipe they love the best.

SUPER EASY SPAGHETTI SAUCE
Prep time:  20 minutes
Cook time: 15 -20 minutes
Ingredients:
1 can spaghetti sauce, I usually buy the cheap cans of garlic & herb sauce
1 can diced tomatoes(slightly drained)
4 links of brown and serve sausage
handful of pepperoni slices
1 cup chopped green pepper
I cup of chopped onion
garlic salt
black pepper
dried basil

-cook the sausage on the stovetop, no need to actually brown it just make sure its heated up
-chop up the pepperoni, sausage, green peppers and onions into small pieces
-In a medium sized pot add the drained diced tomatoes, sausage, pepperoni, green pepper, and onion and can of spaghetti sauce, and stir until mixed nicely.
-Add dashed of garlic salt, black pepper, and basil to taste.  These flavors will come out while heating so start small and add more later if you think you need it.
-Heat on low heat for about 15 minutes stirring frequently.  Taste test it about halfway through to see if it needs more spices.
-Serve over pasta

With four people eating I usually have leftovers which are good for lunches or for use in other dishes.  This is actually the sauce my wife uses in lasagna and I use it in my meatloaf recipe.  

*Dad's important fact, spaghetti sauce stains are really hard to get out.  If your kids are too big for bibs like mine  have them take their shirts right off for dinner.  If you do get sauce on a shirt pour detergent on the stain to pretreat it. 

Hope you and your kids love it.

One handed meatloaf

This was on the menu tonight.  I call it One Handed Meatloaf because the first time I made it I viciously cut my finger slicing the green peppers and had to make it with one hand so there wasn't blood all through it!

ONE HANDED MEATLOAF
Prep Time:  10 minutes
Cook Time approx 1 hour
Ingredients:
1-1 1/2 pounds ground beef, the leaner the better
1/2  cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup spaghetti sauce(I used my homemade meat sauce)
1 cup of bread crumbs*
salt and pepper to taste

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees
-In a large bowl combine hamburger, green pepper, onion, spaghetti sauce, and bread crumbs and mash it up real good.  I prefer to use my hands for this to really get things mixed together.
*Use your own judgement with the breadcrumbs if you want the meat a little drier add more than the cup I use.  I also experiment with different flavors of breadcrumbs.
-Drop the mixture into a 13 X 9 baking dish and shape into a loaf. 
-Cook in the oven for about 60 minutes or until the internal temp is around 160 degrees, and the juices run clear.

There are any number of things you can top this meatloaf with.  Sometimes I will add some BBQ sauce to it about 15 minutes before it's done, and sometimes I will serve it plain with ketchup on the side.  

I tend to serve this with rice and broccoli, but one of those quick made pasta packages and any veggie rounds this out really nice. 

Hope you, and more importantly your kids, like it!