Chicken Rolls
Quick and easy for a busy night!
1 can refrigerated crescent rolls (Pillsbury is best)
2 cups cooked, cubed chicken
1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 soup can milk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Open the tube of crescent rolls and separate each triangle of dough. Put some cubed chicken on the wide end of each roll, and top with a tablespoon or two of the cheese. Roll the dough up, starting with the chicken end, making sure to tuck ends in so chicken doesn't fall out. Mix the soup and milk together in a small bowl, stirring until smooth. Pour enough of the soup mixture in a 9x13 pan to just cover the bottom. Put the chicken rolls in the pan. Pour the rest of the soup mixture on top, and sprinkle the rest of the grated cheese on top of that. Bake 35 minutes. Serves 3 to 4.
Coconut Cream Cake
This one's a crowd pleaser!
For the cake:
1 box white cake mix
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
8 oz. sour cream
8 oz. coconut milk
For the frosting:
16 oz. powdered sugar
1 pkg. cream cheese
2-3 tbsp. milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
For the topping:
1 cup flaked coconut
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x13 pan or two 8-inch pans. In a medium bowl, combine the cake mix, oil, eggs, sour cream and coconut milk. Mix well until blended. If batter seems thick, add more coconut milk a tablespoon at a time until a smoother consistency is reached. Spread batter evenly into prepared pan(s). Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool. While cake cools, make your frosting and toast your topping. Spread flaked coconut on a cookie sheet and place in already preheated oven. Check every 2-3 minutes, and remove when it turns golden brown. To make frosting, cream together powdered sugar, cream cheese and milk. Stir in the vanilla. Frost cooled cake, then sprinkle with toasted coconut. Enjoy!
Peanut Butter Pancakes & Peanut Butter Syrup
This will become your new favorite meal for breakfast (or dinner)!
For the pancakes:
1 cup pancake mix
2 tbsp. sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup peanut butter (chunky is the best!)
5 oz. evaporated milk
1/3 cup water
For the syrup:
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup peanut butter (again, chunky is the best!)
In a bowl, combine pancake mix and sugar. In another bowl, beat egg and peanut butter; add milk and water. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto a lightly greased, medium-hot griddle. Turn when bubbles form on top of pancakes, and cook until second side is golden brown. While the pancakes are cooking, heat syrup and peanut butter on low heat in a small saucepan until melted and smooth. Top pancakes with warm peanut butter syrup and enjoy! Makes 12-14 pancakes.
Browned Butter & Mizithra Cheese Spaghetti
Exactly like The Spaghetti Factory's signature dish!
2 cups pasta (I prefer penne)
1 stick butter
1 cup mizithra cheese, grated
Cook pasta according to directions on package. While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter at a medium heat, and stir often. When the butter starts to turn slightly brown, it's ready. Drizzle butter on top of cooked pasta. Then, sprinkle mizithra cheese on top of pasta (I like to put on a lot like the Spaghetti Factory does, but it's up to you). Serve with green salad and garlic bread, and you've got yourself a fancy Italian meal! Serves 2-3.
Grandma's Chicken Fried Steak
The easiest way to your man's stomach!
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 egg
1 tbsp. water
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
2 medium cube steaks
3 tbsp. margarine
You will need three separate dishes. In one dish, mix flour, salt and pepper. In another, whip egg and water together, and in the last, place the breadcrumbs. Dip cube steaks first in the flour mixture, then the egg mixture, and finally into the breadcrumbs. Melt margarine in fry pan, and place coated cube steaks in pan. Cook over medium heat for about 7 minutes on each side. Serves 2.
*Note: If you're interested in gravy for your steak, here's how Grandma does it:
In the pan you cooked the cube steaks in, add 3 more tbsp. of margarine, the leftover flour, and scrape up the drippings from the meat. When this mixture begins to bubble, slowly add in 2 cups of milk and stir constantly. The gravy will start to thicken, but if it doesn't, add a little more flour. When it looks nice and thick, it should be good to go. Good luck with this one...I suck at making homemade gravy.
Quick & Easy Homemade Fries
Somewhat healthy, too!
3 small or medium baking potatoes
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Slice or wedge potatoes depending on preference (I prefer slicing because they bake faster). Toss with olive oil in bowl, then place on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 425 degrees for about 25 minutes or until golden brown, turning potatoes over halfway through cook time. Season with salt and pepper, and enjoy! Serves 2.
Homemade Macaroni & Cheese
Way better than Kraft!
16 oz. penne pasta noodles, cooked
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 cup flour
3 1/2 cups skim milk
1 lb. velveeta cheese, cubed
breadcrumbs
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a saucepan melt butter, then add salt, pepper and flour and stir until smooth. Remove from heat and add milk, then return to heat and bring to a boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and add cheese, stirring until melted. Pour over noodles, sprinkle with breadcrumbs and bake for 30 minutes in a 9 x 9 pan.
*Note: The cheese sauce makes enough to cover 32 oz. of cooked pasta. Since it's just the two of us I used half of the sauce one week and we had mac & cheese as our main meal, with veggies and croissants on the side, and then the next week I used the other half of the sauce and we had mac & cheese as a side with chicken and veggies.
Stuffed Mushrooms
Makes a great appetizer for the Superbowl!
2 pkg. small fresh mushrooms, stems removed
6 oz. pkg. chicken flavored dry stuffing mix
8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, room temperature
2 cans real crab meat
1/2 cup butter
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
salt and pepper to taste
garlic powder to taste
crushed red pepper to taste
Arrange mushroom caps on baking sheet, bottoms up. Chop and reserve stems. Prepare chicken flavored stuffing mix according to package directions (you'll need 1/4 cup margarine). Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Mix in garlic and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. In medium bowl, mix together reserved mushroom stems, prepared stuffing mix, cream cheese, and crab meat. Liberally stuff mushrooms with the mixture. Drizzle with the butter and garlic. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and crushed red pepper. Bake uncovered for 10-12 minutes or until stuffing is lightly browned.
*Note: This makes a lot of mix to stuff the mushrooms with. This is my aunt's recipe, and she says its best to just make the mix like the recipe says and then freeze what you don't use. I plan on stuffing some portabellos with the rest of the mixture sometime next week for John and I.
