TGIF

I never thought Friday would get here this week.  It has been a LOOOOONG week!  Hubby was out of town and I was busy with different things.  He got back home this afternoon, so everything can fall back into place now.  I brought chicken home for dinner, but didn't know how I wanted to prepare it.  I went through some recipes and found one I don't think I ever tried.  It was easy, quick, and very tasty!  Perfect for a Friday night!

Chicken Nacho Bake

4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (4 oz. each)

1/2 cup  chunky salsa
2 drops of doTERRA Cumin essential oil

1/4 cup fat free sour cream

1/2 cup  crushed corn tortilla chips

1/2 cup 2% Mexican Style Finely Shredded Four Cheese 

Preheat oven to 400ºF.  Place chicken in a baking dish. Slice three cuts on top of each chicken breast with sharp knife.  In a bowl, mix salsa and sour cream.  Sprinkle the top of the chicken with the crushed tortilla chips.  Evenly spread salsa mixture on top of the chips.  Bake the chicken for 20 min. Remove from oven; sprinkle with cheese. Bake for  an additional 10 min.

Lazy Day Recipe

Today was a lazy, lay around kind of day.  I enjoyed every minute of it too.  Too bad I have to go back to work tomorrow.  I could do this all the time.  This is the perfect recipe for a lazy day.  You put everything in one pot to cook so you only have one pot to clean up.

I tried to take a picture, but my camera battery was dead.  Dang!

Chicken Zucchini Mushroom Pasta

4 ½ cups of water

1 lb mushrooms

2 Tb. minced garlic

1 cup of peas, frozen

Italian Seasoning to taste

2 zucchini, sliced

1 lb. spaghetti or fettuccini (I used whole grain)

salt and pepper to taste

½  cup milk

2 Tb. butter

2 tsp. flour

1/3 cup Parmesan, grated

1 diced chicken breast, if desired

In a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium high heat, combine spaghetti, mushrooms, zucchini, peas, garlic, Italian seasoning, and 4 1/2 cups water; season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until pasta is cooked thoroughly and liquid has cooked out, about 10 - 14 minutes. Mix milk, butter, and flour.  Stir in Parmesan and milk mixture.

Add chicken, if desired.  Mix well.

 

What is Heavy Cream?

Have you ever gone to the store and looked for Heavy Cream?  I have.  I couldn't find it.  It must go by another name.  I did discover that whipping cream is NOT the same as heavy cream.  I went online and found this recipe.  It sounds easier to make your own than go to the grocery store and buy it.

Heavy Cream Substitute

3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup butter

Melt the butter.  Pour it into the milk, and stir until blended.

Tip: If you use low-fat milk, add a tablespoon of gluten free flour to the mixture to thicken.
          Makes 1 cup of heavy cream.

Oh, Bananas!

I found this recipe on another person's blog and made a couple of changes.  She was using some types of flour I had never heard of.  I'm sure that using those types of flour are just as good and probably healthier, but I wasn't going out tonight to try and locate them.  We have had some snowy, sleety, rainy weather today and getting out tonight did not rank high in the things I needed to do.  These muffins are SO GOOD!!!  A couple of months ago, I had some bananas I didn't use.  I sliced them up, put them in ziploc bags, and put them in the freezer.  They worked GREAT!  I squished them up in the bags before putting them in the mixture.  So ... if you have some bananas that are going bad, don't throw them away!  Slice them up and put them in the freezer so you can use them later!

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

2 cups of self - rising flour
3 over ripe bananas
1/4 cup of maple syrup
1/4 cup of almond milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup of milk chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix first 5 ingredients together.  Mix well.  Add in chocolate chips.  Spoon into muffin tins.  Bake for  15-18 minutes until golden brown.  Cool completely and store in the refrigerator.

This one is so Versatile!

I wanted something new for dinner the other night and a friend (Thanks Suzanne!) told me about a recipe she found on Pinterest. It's good, easy, and delicious.  We ate it over rice the first night, made burritos with it another night, and then I ate it over a salad for lunch.  Just thinking about it makes me want it again!

Crock Pot Cream Cheese Chicken Chile

2 frozen chicken breasts
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 can corn kernels, do not drain
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 pkg. Ranch dressing mix
1 Tb. cumin or 3 drops doTERRA cumin essential oil
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 8-oz pkg. cream cheese

Cook in a crock pot for 6- 8 hours.  Stir a couple of times during the day. 

Before serving, use 2 forks to shred the chicken up. Stir again.

Serve over rice.

Fudge-a-licious!

Nothing says Christmas like FUDGE!!!!  I made chocolate fudge last month as a treat for a friend's birthday, so I decided to make peanut butter fudge for Christmas.  I like this easy fudge for 2 reasons.  The fudge that you can feel the sugar in is good, but it is SO sweet and rich and this one isn't like that.  It's rich, but you don't feel the sugar granules.  The fudge that you use cups of sugar in also has to be cooked on the stove top.  This one DOES NOT!!  Oh, 3 reasons ... this one always turns out right! Enjoy and MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU!

Easy Peanut Butter Fudge

2 packages of peanut butter chips
4 Tb. butter or margarine
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp salt

Mix the first 3 ingredients together in a bowl and put it in the microwave for 1 minute.  Stir and microwave for 30 more seconds.  Stir in vanilla and salt.
Line an 8x8 or 9x9 baking pan with foil.  I used the no stick foil or you can spray regular foil with butter.  Pour mixture into pan and refrigerate overnight.  The next day, take the pan out of the refrigerator and remove the fudge.  Let it sit for an hour before cutting into small squares.

*Use milk chocolate chips if you'd rather have chocolate fudge.  OR make both and pour the chocolate fudge on top of the peanut butter fudge.  Let the peanut butter fudge chill for 2 hours before pouring the chocolate on top.  If you decide to make the chocolate peanut butter fudge, use a 9x13 pan.

Apple-licious Birthday!

My grandson turned 6 years old this past weekend.  I can't believe 6 years have already passed since I held that sweet little bundle in my arms and vowed to love him forever.  My heart melted that day and has been mushy ever since.  He is the sweetest, kindest boy on Earth.  I was kidding around with him this weekend and said, "Jake, I didn't bring you a present."  He perked right up and said with the most sincere expression on his face and said, "That's O.K!"  I LOVE THAT BOY SO MUCH!!!!!  Then when he opened our present, he was SO excited!  He has become interested in Ninja Turtles.  When he saw that he got a Ninja Turtle shell he could wear, a Raphael mask, and Raphael's weapons that actually fit in his shell, he was over the moon excited.  It made me feel good all over to see him so happy!  Being his grandmother is such a joy and such a blessing!

His other grandmother made baked apples and brought them for part of dinner.  I had not had baked apples in years.  OH. MY. GOODNESS.  They were SO good!  I made them as part of my dinner tonight.  They are so easy and delicious, I have to share her recipe.

Baked Apples

Apples
Cinnamon
Brown Sugar
Butter or margarine

Wash, core, and slice apples - I sliced each apple into 6 - 8 pieces.  I sprayed the baking dish with butter and put the apples into the dish.  I sprinkled cinnamon over the apple slices.  Use the amount that makes you happy.  I like cinnamon a lot, so I sprinkled it freely on the apples.  Sprinkle brown sugar over the apples.  I probably used a couple of tablespoons.  Next, slice up 1-2 tablespoons of butter and place on the apples.  Mix the apple mixture up and cover the dish with foil.  Bake at 400  degrees for 20 minutes.

The leftovers.  This will be part of my lunch tomorrow!