Pork & Green Chiles Casserole

Pork & Green Chiles Casserole

1 lb lean boneless pork
1 tbsp cooking oil
1 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 11 oz. can condensed cream of chicken soup
2 4 oz. cans diced green chile peppers, drained
1 1/2 cups brown rice
1/4 cup water
2 tsp. cumin
1/2+ cup shredded cheddar cheese

1. Cut pork into bite sized pieces. Heat oil in a large skillet and cook pork until no pink remains.
2. Stir in beans, tomatoes, soup, chile peppers, rice, water and cumin. Heat and stir just into bubbly, then pour into a 2 quart casserole dish.
3. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

Notes: If you like spicy, add a few tsp of crushed red pepper or chili powder. Though I haven't tried it, I bet this recipe would taste equally as delicious with chicken instead of pork. Even Nora, who normally refuses meat and tomatoes, ate a ton of the stew! We loved it :)

Recipe Origination: Mostly from "Treasured Recipes," with a few personal tweaks

Beef Taco Skillet

Beef Taco Skillet

1 lb ground beef
1 can tomato soup
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 cup water
6 flour tortillas (6") cut into 1" pieces
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1. Cook beef in 10" skillet until browned, stiring to break up meat. Pour off fat.
2. Stir in soup, salsa, water and tortillas. Heat to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook for 5 minutes.
3. Top with cheese and serve.

Notes: This makes about 3-4 servings and can easily be cut in half. I've made it with Mexican cheese and with corn tortillas; both taste good! This is a very quick and easy meal...maybe 15 minutes total.

Recipe Origination: It's a Campbell's soup recipe.

Creole Mac & Cheese Spaghetti

Creole Mac & Cheese Spaghetti


1/2 cup bread crumbs
1+ tbsp parmesan cheese
1-2 tbsp butter
7-8 oz package spaghetti (we like using quinoa pasta or "Barilla plus")
1 cup frozen corn (and/or peas)
6 oz. (1 1/2 cups) shredded cheddar
2+ tsp creole seasonings (or a mix of salt, garlic, and red pepper)
Thin shreds of prosciutto (or deli ham)



1. Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Cook pasta according to directions. Add corn/peas when 3 minutes remain. Drain and set aside when time is up.
3. Put 1/2 cup water in sauce pan with the butter and heat to boil. Slowly add cheddar cheese until all melted. Stir in creole seasonings.
4. Mix pasta with cheese. Place in 8 x 8 baking dish. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and prosciutto. 5. Bake at 300 degrees until fully warmed, about 10 minutes.



Notes: This makes about 3 servings, possibly 4 if you're serving a salad or some other side item. The original recipe also said to put broccoli in it, but I can't bring myself to eat broccoli 99% of the time.

Recipe Origination: Mostly original, with some inspiration from a "Better Homes & Gardens" recipe

White Bean Turkey Chili with Corn Bread Dumplings

White Bean Turkey Chili with Corn Bread Dumplings

1 lb. cooked turkey
16 oz. jar chunky salsa
1 15 oz. can cannellini (white kidney) beans, rinsed and drained
1-2 tsp. chili powder
1 8.5 oz. package corn bread mix
1 egg
Shredded cheddar for sprinkling

1. Cook turkey, chopping it up, in a Dutch oven or large skillet with lid.
2. Add salsa, beans, chili powder and 1/2 cup water. Bring to boil.
3. Mix together corn bread mix, egg and 1/4 cup water. Drop batter by large spponfuls on boiling turkey chili.
4. Cover. Reduce heat and simmer for 12-15 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted into dumplings comes out clean.
5. Top with cheese.

Notes: We really loved this, and it was extremely time efficient - maybe 25 minutes total. One recipe will served about 3-4 people.

Recipe Origination: "Better Homes & Gardens" with minimal changes

Cream Cheese Monkey Bread

Cream Cheese Monkey Bread

1 package giant biscuits
4 oz. cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
6 tbsp. butter
4 tsp cinnamon
1 lb. sliced strawberries

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Melt 2 tbsp butter on the bottom of an 8x8 baking dish.
3. Mix cream cheese, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.
4. Divide each biscuit into four pieces. Flatten and put a scoop of the cream cheese mixture on each. Fold biscuit over cream cheese to make a ball. Place each ball in the baking dish, overlapping.
5. Melt 4 tbsp butter. Add brown sugar and mix. Spread over dough balls.
6. Bake for 20-ish minutes.
7. Serve warm with a side of sliced strawberries.

Recipe Origination: I made it up this morning. I had leftover cream cheese and a canister of biscuit dough, so I thought I'd try something new. It was a wonderful creation :) You could probably get away with less butter, but what fun is that?

Green Chili & Chicken Enchiladas

Green Chili & Chicken Enchiladas

1 1/4 lb. chicken breast tenders
1 1/2 cups bottled green salsa (we really liked Goya Salsa Verde)
1 4 oz can diced green chilies
1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican-style cheese blend (6 oz.)
8 6-7" flour tortillas

1. Cut chicken into 1" pieces. In large microwave bowl cook on high for 7 minutes, stirring every minute or so. Drain liquid. Break chicken with the back of a wooden spoon.
2. Add salsa and 1 cup cheese. Microwave 1 minute.
3. Spread mixture into tortillas and roll up. Place in the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
4. Bake at 500 degrees for 5 minutes.

Notes: These only took 15 minutes to make from start to finish, and they were awesome! I found the recipe to be perfect as is...all I did was add a bit of cumin. We really liked the Goya salsa, but beware, it's really spicy! I only made half a recipe, but will certainly be making the entire thing next time. We could have easily eaten more.

The second time around I added in fresh sweet corn. I'll be adding in corn every time now. It added good texture and flavor. Later on I marinated the chicken (see "Chipotle Chicken" post toward the end of April). If you have the extra time, it's a great improvement!

Recipe Origination: "Better Homes & Gardens"

Ham & Sweet Potato Kabobs

Ham & Sweet Potato Kabobs

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed

1 can unsweetened pineapple chunks
1/4 cup melted butter

4 tsp. brown sugar

1 lb fully cooked boneless ham, cut into 1" cubes

2 yellow summer squash, cut into 3/4" slices

2 large apples, cubed

Skewers

1. Place sweet potatoes in saucepan and cover with water. Bring to boil, then reduce heat, cover and cook for 10-15 minutes. Drain and set aside.

2. Drain pineapple, reserving juice. Combine juice, butter and brown sugar.

3. Place ham, pineapple, squash, apples, and sweet potato in a large resealable plastic bag. Add the juice mixture. Seal bag, turn to coat and refrigerate for 1 hour.

4. Drain and discard marinade. Thread items on skewers. Grill for 15-20 minutes.

Notes: I did the prep the night before and let it marinade all night. It turned out fine. I also used super thick slices/slabs of deli ham, which cubed nicely. I also used 2 sweet potatoes and no summer squash...wasn't in a squash mood. Sean and I really liked this dish, and since all the prep was done the day before, it was a quick and easy meal the night of. I recommend serving it with brown rice.

Recipe Origination: "Taste of Home"

Caramel Apple Cookies

Caramel Apple Cookies

1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
2 3/4 cup oats
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
12 oz caramel baking bits
2 Granny Smith apples



1. Mix butter, brown sugar and sugar with a mixer
2. Mix in eggs and vanilla
3. Put oats in food processor and pulse until finely ground, then mix in flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda
4. Add oat mix into butter mix and blend
5. Peel and chop 2 apples, then hand stir into dough
6. Stir in caramel apple bits
7. Refrigerate dough for an hour
8. Roll dough into golfball sized balls and bake on parchment lined sheets at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes
9. Cool for 4 minutes before moving to a wire rack

Notes: These cookies are like a caramel apple sucker mixed with an oatmeal cookie. (I think I ate half the dough while waiting for batches to bake.)   I found the caramel bites at Wal-Mart with the chocolate chips, made by Kraft. Sometimes the caramel bites stick when you're trying to remove the cookie, so definitely use parchment paper and let them sit before removing to a cooling rack.

Recipe Origination: Erin found this one for me on craftzine.com

Thai Steak or Chicken Skewers

Thai Steak or Chicken Skewers

1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp lemon juice
1 can (14 oz) coconut milk
1 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 lbs boneless beef sirloin steak (or chicken breast), cut into 1/4" slices
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 tbsp chopped peanuts

1. In large resealable bag, combine brown sugar, lime juice, soy sauce, curry powder, lemon juice, 1/4 cup of coconut milke and 1 tsp red pepper flakes. Add steak (or chicken) and refrigerate for 2-4 hours.
2. Drain and discard marinate. Thread beef (or chicken) on skewers.
3. Grill over medium heat for 6-8 minutes, turning occasionally.
4. In a small saucepan, combine peanut butter with remaining coconut milk and red pepper flakes. Heat through. Sprinkle with peanuts.

Notes: I serve this with brown rice, and it's wonderful. I personally like the chicken better, but I'm going to get a better quality steak and try it again. I also thread red pepper slices with the meat. The meat can marinade over night. The sauce recipe makes enough for a lot of meals, so I would recommend cutting the coconut milk in half but keeping the same amount of peanut butter. To feed two without leftovers, I'd recommend cutting the meat and marinade in half, too. Two pounds of meat is a lot for one meal!

Recipe Origination: "Taste of Home"