Paula Dean's Creamy Macaroni and Cheese

Michael cant eat hard things as he has dental work done - and I have been wanting to try out this recipe that I found while browsing the net, Paula Deans' creamy mac and cheese (crock pot style).

It looks really good, and anything by Paula Dean has to be good...right?

Here is what you will need:

• 2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni (an 8-ounce box isn't quite 2 cups)
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stuck) butter, cut into pieces
• 2 1/2 cups (about 10 ounces) grated sharp Cheddar cheese
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed Cheddar cheese soup
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Here is what you will need to do:

Boil the macaroni in a 2 quart saucepan in plenty of water until tender, about 7 minutes. Drain. In a medium saucepan, mix butter and cheese. Stir until the cheese melts. In a slow cooker, combine cheese/butter mixture and add the eggs, sour cream, soup, salt, milk, mustard and pepper and stir well. Then add drained macaroni and stir again. Set the slow cooker on low setting and cook for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.

Looking good...but we have 3 hrs to go before it is finished!

and it is done - and sooo good!


enjoy! Michael loved it!

**note do not cook more then 2.5 hrs it will start binding together and wont be so creamy**

Arroz con Pollo

**Sorry I have not posted anything for a while I found out I was pregnant 4 months ago and I have been dealing with not being able to eat much and altered taste and have not cooked much but I think as the next 5 months pass on I will be cooking up a lot :)**

About 7 years ago I found this YUMMY recipe for Arroz con Pollo which I am making tonight for dinner :) Hope you like as much as me :)

What you will need:
2Tbs olive oil (as much as needed)
1 - .5 lbs chicken parts (I used thighs and drum sticks)
1 small onion chopped (I used yellow for this dish)
4 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp papirka
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp chili powder
1 can crushed tomatoes
1-2 bay leaves
2 cups rice
2 1/4 cups water
1/2 cup beer (which I left out this time I wasnt sure if it would be ok or not - considering I have a bun in the oven haha I wanted to be safe)
1 can of peas and carrots (if you want - it wasnt on the recipe but I wanted to add it)

salt and pepper chicken.


In a deep pot heat oil on med high heat - saute chicken until golden brown on all sides.



Take chicken out and let oil drain out.
meanwhile dump oil out of pot leaving about 1 tbs in pan.

Turn heat down to medium heat and saute onion and garlic until soft about 5 min or so...


Return chicken to pot with the onion and garlic add cumin, paprika, chili powder, and turmeric...stir to distribute the spices on the chicken.


Cook for about 1 minute, add tomatoes and beer (if using) and bay leaves. stir and cook for 2 minutes...

Add rice and water and bring to boil..also this is where I added the can of peas and carrots...




cook until rice is done and liquid id absorbed about 25-30 minutes :)

Our Version of Sweet N Sour Shrimp

Well sometimes I see things and get an idea on how to make it and we came up with this, Sweet N Sour Shrimp. I wasnt sure it would turn out OK but it was decent :)

First we got 1lb fresh shrimp and got to work on shelling and taking the tail off.

Once the shrimp were ready we mixed together flour, salt, oldbay seasoning into a ziplock bag and coated the shrimp in it.

Then we fried the shrimp in Olive oil until golden brown and looking delish!

Pull Shrimp and let oil drain off, in the mean time in the same pan fry onion...once onion is soft, add 1/2 can of sliced carrots, small can of drained pineapple, and what ever other veggie that you want to put in there, we just put in pineapple, carrots, and onion.
once combined, add shrimp to pan, and drench with Sweet N Sour sauce and let simmer.


Serve with rice - Yumminess!

Burrito Pie

Tonight we had Burrito Pie, and it was good...except Michael didnt want to finish his, he wasnt feeling up to eating because his tooth was VERY wiggly. But now his tooth is out and he will be having this for lunch tomorrow :)
It was very easy and Michael helped me cook it which is always a pleasure to have him assist me in the kitchen!

I found this in an email I received from Disney :) Thanks!

What you will need:

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 pound lean ground beef
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 (15 1/2-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels
• 4 (10-inch) flour tortillas
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 cup salsa (I didnt use - we dont really like salsa)
• 8 ounces Cheddar or Monterey Jack, grated

1. In a large skillet over medium-low heat, warm the oil. Add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring often. Add the garlic and sauté another minute.



2. Increase the heat to medium, then add the ground beef, chili powder, and cumin. Cook the mixture until the beef is browned and no longer pink, stirring often, about 3 minutes. Add the salt, water, black beans, and corn, and bring the mixture to a boil. Allow it to continue boiling, stirring occasionally, until the liquid evaporates, about 20 minutes. Remove the mixture from the heat and let it cool for 10 minutes.



3. Heat the oven to 350º. Using the rim of a 9-inch springform pan as a template, trim 3 of the tortillas to the size of the pan. Leave the fourth tortilla untrimmed. Note: You can also bake this dish in a 9-inch round cake pan and serve it like a lasagna
4. Butter the bottom and the sides of the pan. Press the untrimmed tortilla evenly into the pan's bottom. Spread 2 tablespoons of the sour cream over the tortilla, followed by 1/4 cup of the salsa. Spoon and spread a quarter of the beef mixture over the salsa, then sprinkle a quarter of the grated cheese evenly over the top.






5. Place one of the trimmed tortillas on top of the cheese, then repeat the layering of the sour cream, salsa, beef, and cheese. Continue this way until the ingredients and tortillas are used up. You should end up with four layers, topped with the final sprinkling of cheese.
6. Bake the pie until heated through, about 30 minutes. Allow it to cool for 10 minutes, then remove the rim from the springform pan, if you used one. Slice the pie into wedges using a sharp knife. Serves 10.

Nutritional Information:

Per serving (10 servings per pie):
Calories 363
Total Fat 18 g (28% DV)
Saturated Fat 8 g (40% DV)
Cholesterol 48 mg (16% DV)
Sodium 766 mg (32% DV)
Total Carbohydrate 31 g (10% DV)
Fiber 4 g (17% DV)
Sugars 4 g
Protein 19 g (37% DV)
Calcium (21% DV)

Dinner Menu

I am trying to brain storm on what's for dinner for a week at a time instead of picking something at last minute and not having time to actually cook, and just settling for something you just pop in the microwave for 3 minutes and let cook for 2. I know of people who do this dinner menu thing, and stick to it, and I would imagine it would save money? Using what you have and planning ahead instead of wanting to make something and then having to run out and buy EVERYTHING all at one time.
Tonight I admit I was in a hurry - had nothing and no time to cook a proper dinner. So Michael picked chicken pot pie (2nd night in a row, which lead me to the knowledge that my son LOVES chicken pot pie...) so I think that sometime this weekend, my dinner task to conquer will be none other then the 'chicken pot pie' or at least SOME sort of form of one :)
So look for a future blog post of my try at the chicken pot pie!
Tomorrow it was decided something easy and something we can have left overs with for Friday - because this momma is not going to grocery shop until Saturday. Hey when you are a full time working mom, have to come home clean, assist with homework and fix dinner, all within 3 hours before having to go to sleep for the night to wake up and do it all over again, well you really dont have time during the week much less do you WANT to actually go to the grocery store.
I will brain storm on my menu some more, but as of right now I think it will start on Saturday and it will start with a chicken pot pie, and I may also do a small vegetarian one since Mike eats no meat at all, and we dont want him to be jealous of us enjoying yumminess while he heats up a frozen Morning Star burger...hehehe...or maybe we do....just kidding!
~*~Casey~*~

Chicken Piccata!

I love this dish - I have made it before - thanks to Dream dinners...but this time was on my own. I had the dish at The Cheesecake Factory while out with a girlfriend of mine. I love this stuff and vowed to myself to make it. It seemed that it would be hard to make and a lot of ingredients I may or may not ever use again - and not to mention EXPENSIVE!
But after searching the great INTERNET I found a super easy and FAST recipe!
Easy and fast...and CHEAP! I know what you are thinking "how can THAT turn into something great?"
Your right, I thought the same thing as well. But I tried it and it was greatness! I added a bit more lemon juice and capers because I love those 2 flavors mixed together.

"okay so where is the recipe!?" Okay, Okay I get it too much gabbing get down to the nitty gritty right? Okay so here we go...

What will you need? (depending on what you have in your house you MAY or may not have these things, I know I didnt have Olive Oil, it is always a lot of money and I never hardly make anything with it, but I should, so I went out and purchased my FIRST bottle of EVOO! I so feel like Racheal Ray saying that EVOO! LOL
Dont worry I am not going to say "Yumo" or anything LOL)

What you will need:

• 6 to 8 chicken breast halves, boneless, no skin
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika, or to taste
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup chicken broth or water
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  
• 6 to 8 thin slices of lemon
• 3 tablespoons capers (optional)

I used the chicken broth only because I thought it would make it more flavorful then water would be.

What do do:

• Cut chicken breats into halves (long ways to make thin) then put chicken breasts between 2 sheets of waxed paper or plastic wrap; pound to flatten to about 1/4-inch.
• In a shallow bowl, combine flour, salt, pepper and paprika; dredge chicken breasts to coat well.
• Heat butter and olive oil in a large skillet. Sauté chicken breasts, about 3 minutes on each side.
• Drain off all but 2 tablespoons of fat. Stir in chicken broth, scraping to loosen browned bits. Add lemon juice and heat through. Return chicken to the skillet with the lemon slices; heat until sauce thickens. Add capers, if using.
  
  
• You should serve with your favorite pasta, I used thin Spaghetti.
  

Try that! It is super easy, fast for people who dont have a lot of time to slave in the kitchen, cheap and EASY!

Turkey Spaghetti with whole wheat pasta YUM!

Tonight for dinner was spaghetti with whole wheat pasta :) It was great!

First we browned turkey meat in skillet (easy right?)Also added seasoning to it, I personally salt the meat and add some Season All :) Gotta love season all it works for practically EVERYTHING!

After meat is cooked, add tomoatoe sauce, this time I used Hunt's with Mushrooms. Also added some extra mushrooms as well (bought a small can of them).

While letting that simmer into the meat, I put on the noodles to boil,Whole Grain Pasta :)


To pair the meal off to be an Italian night :) Mozzerella sticks (not in the budget with WW I know but so worth it!)

Also cant leave out the Texas Toast!


I can say one thing is we did have a nice dinner :)

And Michael said that I was the best cook ever! Even Better then Food Network people because I add LOOOOVE :)

Total Weight Watcher Points for the Spaghetti 8!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Total for the plate with the cheese sticks and bread...14 points...which wasnt bad for me since I had some to spare for a good dinner :) But still even with out the bread and cheese 8 points for spaghetti is good (i think!)

ENJOY!

Strawberry Shortcake

Okay, Technically I didnt MAKE this, well kinda I cut up strawberries and put sugar on em :)

Oddly enough - and I say oddly because they are soooo good they only have like 4 Weight Watchers points :)

So I took some strawberries, cut those up :

added Splenda on them:


Let them sit so that the splenda could pull the juices out of them.

Once chilled I spooned onto Spongecake cups and topped with a lite Cool Whip!

YUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Weight Watchers:
Strawberries - 0 points
Splenda - 0 points
2 spongecakes (thats the serving size) 4 points



THIS certainly equals YUM!

Stuffed Green Bell Peppers

I wanted to try these and have actually tried it once before so this would be my 2nd time and as much meat as what is in one pepper the calorie count amazed me :) And it may be a little less because the receipe calculator, calculated it, but I had extra meat left over.

5-6 Green Bell Peppers
1 lb. Ground Turkey Meat
1 egg
2 slices of bread
seasoning (I used season all)
1/2 cup diced onion
1 cup Rice
tomato sauce

Mix together ground turkey, egg, bread...crumble bread in, and diced onions and rice.

Core Peppers

Stuff meat mixture into peppers



top with tomato sauce

Bake for 45 minutes


I topped mine with Parm, cheese and YUM!

Stuffed Jalapenos & Pork Roast :)

For Easter Dinner we went with a non-traditional meal...I WAS going to attempt to make a lamb but a lamb is an expensive cut of meat to mess up, so I passed on that idea.
I wanted a crockpot and I just went out and got one so I decided that I would make a roast with veggies, mashed potaotes and fresh snapped beans...some nice stick to your ribs, comfort food.

It was good if I do say so my self, Mike's boss asked him how Mike didnt eat meat when I cooked that good LOL

I think his mom and brother liked it too :) It was a winner dinner!

For the Roast i just got a cut of Pork Roast, put into crockpot with 1 cup of water, roasting seasoning, baby carrots, celery, onion (omit baby potatoes since we are making mashed)

Just put all ingredients into crock pot and let cook mostly all day, I put the roast in the crockpot around 8am.

Mashed potatoes were easy, just boiled potatoes, peeled, milk, butter, salt to season, Whip.

Snapped Bean, buy fresh, snap ends (which I had help from the boys doing that), boiled, I would have boiled with a slab of fat back, but since Mike doesnt eat meat I skipped and just added salt.

All in all it was great!

As an appitizer I went with Stuffed Jalapeno peppers! YUM!

1 pack softened cream cheese
1 cup shredded cheese (mozzerella or mixed - I used Mixed)
6-7 Jalapeno Peppers (whole, fresh)



Slice and clean out jalapeno peppers, making sure ALL seeds are out or they will be REALLY hot. As long as seeds and inside of pepper is CLEAN (I wash with warm water after) then it wont be hot at all.


Mix cheese and cream cheese toghether, once it is mixed, spoon into jalapeno halfs.


You SHOULD wrap it then in a slice of bacon, I didnt (again because Mike doesnt eat meat).

Bake 15 minutes. or until bacon is cooked.

YUM!

Cream of Chicken Soup...not just for soup?

I have always heard that people cook with these soups. I have never done it before last night and I must say it was pretty good! Also a plus is that it was low in calories, something I am aiming for in every meal!

What you need (I only cooked for 2 people so this is based on that)
1 can cream of chicken soup (I am thinking you can also use cream of mushroom soup)
chicken breast

THAT IS IT!!!!!!!!!!!! Nothing more unless you are going to do side dishes. Then you will need those things too.

What I did was poured the soup in a skillet *the back of the soup can says 1 serving is 100 calories - that is including 1/2 cup whole milk* I used water and it was just fine (that made the calories lower so that was a plus)
I let the soup simmer a bit and added the chicken breast, I added salt, season all, and some other spices to my chicken and let simmer until the chicken was done.
You will want to make sure the heat is on a low heat so that the soup doesn't cook out.

For me, the soup turned into a gravy like concoction.

Once that was done I added 4oz peice of chicken, on 1 cup of instant white rice, and 1 cup of steamed broccoli



Again this was a Michael approved meal and he ate all if it *except for 2 bites* but that is fine :)

Chicken Enchiladas (winging it)

Do you ever see a reciepe you want to try, forget to write it down, go to the store -remember you wanted to try it and try to "wing it"?
Well that is exactly what I did, I was in the store, remembered I wanted to try this chicken enchilada dish, was sure of SOME ingredients but not all. So I bought what I thought was needed. I had never made any chicken enchiladas before, always bought frozen ones...if that counts at all?
Needless to say they turned out great!
My son has a notebook, that he has written down all his favorite reciepes that I have made, he draws a picture and writes what it is.
Well this dish made it to the Michael's favorite reciepes book which is an accomplishment in itself!
So this reciepe is MICHAEL APPROVED! Which is the highest compliament I could ever get, because lets face it mommy doesnt always make things that make it to that book! LOL

Here is what we will need:
Chicken Breast (I used 3)
Green Chilie enchilada Sauce (1 can - you can add more if you want)
Tortillas (flour is what I used)
Sour Cream (I used low fat)
Shredded Cheese (I used the mix)

What to do:

Fry chicken breast on skillet - cook slow so that chicken cooks evenly. Add season (I used salt, pepper, season all, and a small sprinkle of taco seasoning)

(my assistant Michael in the kitchen cooking chicken breast)


**Tip of the Day - for kids who are picky to eat, I find it helps if THEY help cook the meal, if THEY make it or help, they are more likely to TRY it and LIKE it**

After the chicken is cooked, add half can of green chili enchilada sauce and simmer with lid on pan.


Once it has cooked into the chicken, take fork and shred chicken in pan. I used two forks it was much easier! It should look something like this once you have done that;


Replace lid on pan and let simmer for about 10 minutes.

After that add 1 cup of sour cream to chicken and 1 cup shredded cheese. Stir.


once it is all mixed together it should look something like this;


Warm tortillas for a few seconds in microwave, spoon mixture into tortillas and roll up, place into baking dish.



Pour remaining enchilada sauce over rolls and top with cheese.

Bake for about 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.


YUMMMM!




AND like I said Michael approved :)

Cake Balls

I got this from some people, who were making them on DFWareamoms.com, checked all reciepes dot com,tried them, firs time - FAILED! I over cooked the chocolate, by trying to melt it on the stove top...needless to say I needed to double boil or microwave it.
I can say that you should micowave the chocolate to get it just right.

It is sooo simple! If you are not a cook, it is okay because it is fool proof - unless of course you are a fool like me and burn the chocolate :)

What you need:
Any flavor cake mix you want
Any flavor icing you want, mix well with the cake mix you bought
Almond Bark Bar (White and Milk Chocolate)
Wax Paper
Tooth Pick

What to do:
* Make cake according to directions on package

* While cake is still warm, dump into mixing bowl, Empty half of the icing into the mixture (1 can is too much IMO) - mix warm cake mix and icing until well blended (use a fork)

* Form balls with hands using tablespoon to measure. place rolls on wax paper

* Microwave almond bark bars in microwave, 1 minute at first - check it- stir, and if needed zap in 20 second times.

* Dip cake balls into chocolate using tooth pick and let set until chocolate firms.

You can drizzle the white chocolate over top to make it look pretty :)

Dippin' things in chocolate

Who would have known? Well I didnt LOL maybe others dont either, but you can make the easiest holiday treats ever with Almond bark bars, and random things that would taste good covered in chocolate!

They have Milk Chocolate and White Chocolate Almond Bark Bars, I was able to pick some up at Wal-Mart for under $2!
I dont know if that is a deal or not as I have never bought them before, let alone heard of them.

I took Pretzel rods, spread Peanut butter on the top portion only and dipped in chocolate, sprinkles, and let cool.








I also have been dunkin Oreo Cookies,Butter cookies, freshed baked chocolate chip cookies...people have given me ideas, of potato chips, cheese cake bites, I even did cake balls, recipe and pics coming soon!