Quick Taco Salad Bowls

Ever wanted a taco salad but just didn't want to buy the shells or if your like me only want flour shells and not the corn no problem,

Prep time: 5 Min
Cook Time: 8 min
Oven 425

8" flour tortillas
Aluminum Foil
Chili powder
Cooking Spray

Crumple large sheets of foil to make 3in balls (if you don't have foil or don't want to waste it you can use small oven save bowls). Place on baking sheet. Place one tortilla on top of each ball. Spray with cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with chili powered. Bake 6-8 min or until tortillas are golden brown.

Fill with your favorite taco fillings.

Kraft Recipes

I'm loving the latest Kraft Recipes. If you do not subscribe to the news letter you should they have a ton of ideas for the on the go chef and always simple recipes. Their site is really easy to navigate and have options for even the pickiest of eaters

http://www.kraftrecipes.com

I may from time to time put one on here but for their full recipes it is really a great source.

Chicken Salad

This is a quick pasta salad but leave out the pasta and it is a great chicken salad sandwich recipe

Prep time: 10 min
Cook Time: 10 min if you use chicken that needs to be cooked we used canned chicken or precooked

All of these ingredients are to be combined to fit your taste so there is no specific measurement giving. Have fun and play with it until you get a taste you like. Just remember to add a little at a time so you don't over do it cause it's easy to add hard to take out.

Mayonnaise or Miracle Whip
Salad Supreme (this is a seasoning you can find at most grocery stores I usually find it by the make you own salad dressing)
Pasta
Onions chopped
celery chopped
pepper
Chicken chopped (we have also used crab and shrimp)

Easy Roasted Pork

Another Kraft favorite. This one takes longer on the cook time but prep is a breeze.


Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 1 1/2 hours at 350°F
Serves: 12


1 boneless pork roast (3 lb.)

3/4 cup  KRAFT CATALINA Dressing, divided

2 lb. Baking potatoes (about 4), cut into 2-inch chunks

4 Beets (1 lb.), cut into 2-inch chunks

4 Onions (1 lb.), cut into 2-inch chunks

4 Carrots (1 lb.), cut into 2-inch chunks

Place meat in roasting pan sprayed with cooking spray; brush with 1/2 cup dressing. Toss potatoes and beets with 2 Tbsp. of the remaining dressing; spoon around meat. Bake 15 min.

Toss onions and carrots with heat oven to 350°F in remaining dressing. Add to ingredients in roasting pan.

BAKE 1-1/2 hours or until meat is done (160°F), basting occasionally with pan juices. Remove from oven; let stand 10 min. Slice meat. Serve with vegetables.

Sausage with Peppers and Pasta

I got this one from Kraft Recipes

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 20 Min

Servings: 6 1 1/2 cups

3 cups rigatoni pasta, uncooked

1 lb.  Italian sausage, sliced

1 each: red, green and yellow pepper, coarsely chopped

1 can (14-1/2 oz.) Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained

1-1/2 cups KRAFT Shredded Italian* Mozzarella-Parmesan Cheese Blend

1/4 cup KRAFT Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Cook pasta as directed on package. Meanwhile, cook sausage in large skillet on medium heat 10 min. Stir in peppers; cook 7 min. or until sausage is cooked through and peppers are crisp-tender. Stir in tomatoes; cook 2 min. or until heated through.

Drain pasta. Add to sausage mixture with shredded cheese; mix well.

Top with Parmesan.

Tommally Pie

A yummy twist on the Mexican favorite

Prep time: 15 min

Cook Time: 20 min

1 med yellow onion chopped

1 med red onion chopped

2 tbs olive oil

1 can kidney beans

2 cloves garlic

1 can stewed tomatoes - dices and drained

1 lb ground beef

2-3 tbs of taco seasoning

1/2 cup chopped olives

1 pkg corn bread mix (we use the Jiffy mix)

1 cup Colby jack cheese shredded

Sour cream

Heat olive oil in a large oven proof skillet on med heat. Add onions and seasoning let cook until onions are soft. Add garlic cook for 30. Add and mix beans and tomatoes. Add meat cook until lightly browned. Mix in cheese and olives. Put on low heat and continue cooking on simmer.

In the mean time: make cornbread mix

In the skillet create a level surface of the filling and dollop the cornbread mix on the top. Spread evenly about 1/4" thick. Place in the oven for 10-15 min or until the corn bread is  cooked. 

Serve with sour cream.

Rise and Shine Breakfast Bagels

This is a quick fix for a morning on the go.

Plain Bagels (we use the thin bagels from Costco. You can use other kinds of bagels though I would recommend not using bagels with fruit in them)
Shredded Cheese
2 eggs
Ham Deli meat
Butter
Toaster
Microwave

We put the bagels in the toaster you want them toasted or else they can get soggy.

In a small microwave bowl spray or butter the bowl so the eggs won't stick to the dish put the two eggs in and scramble them. Cook on high for 30 second increments. You will want to stir the eggs in between the cook times to release some heat or it can get messy in the oven. 2 eggs will take about 45 second to cook so if you are making multiples add about 15 seconds for each additional 2eggs. If you hear the eggs pop stop the microwave immediately it is done any more will over cook them and cause a huge mess.

When the bagels are toasted butter and place a couple slices of ham on them. Spread the shredded cheese evenly over the ham and place the cooked egg on the top of the cheese. Put both sides of the bagel together.

If you have time eat immediately if not put it in a plastic bag and eat it on the way to school or work.

Peached-Glazed Chicken Wings

A sweet twist on Chicken. Take very little time but wings do need to marinate for at least 4 hours.

Prep Time: 5 min
Cook Time: 20 min
Serves 10

20 fresh chicken wings, wing tips removed
1 12oz can peach nectar
2 tsp grated lemon peel
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 16oz peach preserves

Place wings in a large resealable plastic bag. Add nectar, lemon peel, juice and preserves. Seal and shake to coat. chill 4-6 hours. Remove wings; discard marinade.

Grill wings over medium heat 5 minutes on each side or until grill marks appear. Grill over indirect heat 8-10 minutes, brushing evenly with preserves, or until tender and no longer pink.

Bacon and Tomato Pesto Pasta

Quick and easy pasta salad

Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
about 8 servings

8 slices of Bacon chopped
1/2 cup Cherry tomatoes
1 small tub chive and onion cream cheese spread or dip
1 cup Milk
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
6 cups cooked penne pasta

Cook the bacon in a skillet for 5 min or until crisp, drain off fat. stir in cherry tomatoes and tub of chive and onion dip, milk and parmesan. mix well and cook until bubbly stirring frequently. Stir in penne pasta.

Broccoli and Cheddar Cheese Soup

A classic but a goody

Prep Time: 5 min
Cook Time: 20 min

1 onion chopped
2 tbs italian dressing
1 can cream of chicken soup
 2 soup cans of water
4 cups chopped broccoli
1 cup milk
1/2 cup rice uncooked
1 cup cheddar cheese

In a large sauce pan cook onions until tender.

Add broth water and broccoli. Bring to a boil. cook 8-10 min or until broccoli is tender.

Stir in milk and rice. Reduce heat to medium cook 5 min

Pour into blender and blend till smooth.

Top with cheese.

Layered Chicken Cordon Bleu

A great twist on a typically laborous meal


Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 1 hour
350 degree oven


1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1 soup can milk ( any kind)
1 lb thin sliced Swiss cheese
1/2 lb deli ham sliced really thin
Chicken cutlets (thinly sliced, at least 2 per person)
1 box of bread crumbs

Mix the can of cream of chicken soup and the milk, you can do this in a blender to ensure that is is equally blended.


In a deep casserole dish layer the chicken, sliced ham and swiss cheese . After each three part layer pour some of the chicken soup mix over the top.


When all layers are in the dish pour any remaining soup mixture over the dish and top with bread crumbs. 


Cook for an hour in a 350 degree oven.

Shepard's Pie

Growing up one of my favorite dishes was Shepard's Pie. This is a great dish for using up left over mash potatoes or left over meatloaf; but can also be done fresh with a little work. This recipe will focus on the quick fresh method.

Prep time 15min

Cook time 25-35 min

Serves about 4-5

What you need.

1 1/4 lbs of ground beef

1 can Tomato sauce mixed with your choice of seasonings (Italian or garlic herb seem to be best)

or 1 bottle of your favorite tomato based spaghetti sauce

1-24oz cans of green beans

4 servings of potato pearls or other instant mashed potatoes

lots of cheese

9 inch casserole dish

a 9" skillet

1 Tbs of olive oil

preheat oven to 350 degrees

Brown the meat in a frying pan with the oil

add the browned meat, drained green beans and tomato sauce mix to the casserole dish, mix throughly, and level.

mix up the potatoes as directed and spread over the top of the mixture.

cover the potatoes with the cheese

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-35 minutes until the mixture is hot and the cheese is slightly toasted.

Easy Scone Tacos

This is an alternate to shells and tortillas if your in for something different.

Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 15 min

Scones:
2 cups Flour
3/4 tsp salt
3 tsp baking soda
1 cup water

combine all ingredients, separate in 3" circles and fry in oil on med heat.

Suggested toppings:
Refried Beans
Chicken or Ground Beef cooked with taco seasoning
Dices tomatoes
Olives
Lettuce

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

You might think how could making Chicken Noodle Soup from scratch be faster than opening a can and heating it.... Well it's not, But it's so much better for you since you know all of the ingredients and something about homemade always makes it taste better.

Prep Time 10 min
Cook time 15 min

1 can canned Chicken
1 cup copped carrots
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 med onion chopped
1-2 cans chicken broth
2 cups noodles uncooked

or for homemade noodles
1 egg
4-8 tbs flour

In a large pot combine 1 can of chicken broth, all vegetables and cook until the vegetables are tender crisp. Add the canned chicken, break it up if it needs to be. Add another can of chicken broth if it need the flavor or the liquid you can also add in water as needed. Add the noodles and salt and pepper to taste.

For Homemade noodles (your hands will get messy with this one since it is hard to really mix it with a utensil)

In a small bowl combine the egg and 4 tbs of flour. mix in the rest of the flour a little at a time until the dough has a light stickiness feel to it.  spread some flour out on the counter and roll out the dough cut in to 1" X 1/2" strips and add to the hot soup. when they rise to the top of the liquid they are cooked.


We also substitute potatoes for the celery since we rarely have celery in the house.

Chicken or Steak Fajitas

Is your mouth watering yet...

Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min

1 lbs Boneless skinless chicken breasts or Steak
1 red onion
2 red bell peppers
2 green bell peppers
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
3 drop Tabasco sauce
2 pkgs taco seasoning

Flour Tortillas

Cut the chicken or steak into strips and cook throughly, set aside.

Saute peppers and onions in a large skillet. Add the remaining ingredients but use a little less water than the taco seasoning requires. Cook over medium heat until the water has evaporated.

Serve with warm flour tortillas.

We sometimes add rice with the filling in the tortilla.

Saucy Chicken Skillet

This one takes a little longer to make but is worth it.

Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Makes about 4 servings

8 oz Fettuccine, uncooked
1 tbs oil
4 small chicken breast halves (about a pound)
4 oz cream cheese cubed
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup vinaigrette dressing (we use balsamic but you can try another flavor if you wish)
2 green onions chopped
2 tbs Fresh basil or parsley
1/2 cup snow peas
1/2 cherry tomatoes halved

Cook pasta

Heat oil in  large skillet on med heat. Add chicken; cook 5 min on each side or until browned on both sides.

Stir in cream cheese, broth, dressing, green onions, basil. cook and stir until sauce begins to thicken and chicken is cooked through (170 degrees). Add snow peas and tomatoes; cook 2-4 min or until snow peas are crisp tender, stirring occasionally.

Serve over pasta

Chicken Pasta Salad

So simple that you may try to make it difficult.

Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 5 min

2 cups pasta uncooked
1 lb chicken breasts or you can buy precooked strips
1/2 cup green peas
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup red pepper
1/4 cup Italian dressing
1/2 cup miracle whip or mayonnaise

Prepare the pasta drain and cool.

In a skillet cook the chicken throughly then set aside to cool once cooled chop or slice into strips.

Prepare all of the other vegetables and combine in a bowl with the miracle whip, add the pasta and chicken mix well and refrigerate until chilled about an hour.

You can eat this one warm if you would like, just heat up all the vegetable a little so everything is warm.

Speedy Chicken Stir-fry

Quick and yummy could you ask for better!

Prep Time 10 min
Cook Time 15 min

8 oz angel hair pasta, uncooked
2 cups broccoli florets
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast cut into thin strips
1/2 cup sesame dressing
2 tbs soy sauce
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1/3 cup peanuts (optional)

Cook pasta, add broccoli the last 3 min

In a large skillet or wok cook chicken on medium heat for 6-8 min, stir in dressing, soy sauce, ginger, garlic powder and crushed red pepper. Cook 1 min more.

Combine with noodles and broccoli.

Italian Chicken and Rice with Vegetables

This is so yummy with very little thought to it.

Prep time 10 min
Cook Time 15-20 min
makes about 4 servings.

To make this recipe even speedier you can use precooked chicken strips instead of cutting and cooking your own.

1 Tbs oil
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast cut into strips
3 cup cut up vegetables (we use broccoli, carrots and red peppers but you can use whatever your family will eat)
1 can (14 oz) chicken broth
2 cups minute rice uncooked
1/4 cup Italian dressing

Heat oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add chicken; cook and stir until lightly browned, stirring occasionally.

Add vegetables, cook and stir about 3 - 5 min or until crisp and tender. Stir in Broth and bring to a boil.

Stir in rice and Italian dressing. Cover. Reduce heat to low. Cook 5 min or until liquid is absorbed and chicken is cooked through

Slumgullion

Don't be too put off by the name Slumgullion (or Slamgolian) really is more like a goulash if you have ever had that.

Prep time 15min
Cook time 10 min

2 cups macaroni or shell noodles
1/2  cup diced onion
1 lb ground meat
2 cans (15 oz)  stewed tomatoes
1 tbs Italian seasoning
1 tbs ketchup

Start you noodles cooking.
In a skillet caramelize the onions and add the Italian seasoning and ground beef and brown meat.
Drain and rinse the noodles with hot water. combine with the meat. Boil down the stewed tomato juice 15-20% and combine with the meat. heat through and serve.

This is one of my Husbands favorite recipes and so I can not vouch for the total accuracy of the information here.

Crepes

I know when you think of Crepes you think... Eeks you can't be serious but yes quick and easy crepes.


Prep time 5 min
Cook time 10 Min for whole batch
Non stick Skillet on Medium Heat
makes about 10-12 crepes (Dependant upon the thickness of the crepes)

Combine in a blender
2 Eggs
2 Cups Milk
2 Cups Flour
2 Tbs Sugar
Pinch of salt

Add milk or flour until the mix is the consistency of heavy cream

The next step is all in the wrist. Place about a 1/4 cup of mixture in the skillet while holding it on an angle above the stove. Swirl the pan quickly until you have a even layer in a circle like pattern (mine are certainly not symmetrical). Cook on one side until it is slightly brown, at this point the Crepe should release easily and you can flip it (if you are so daring) or turn it to the other side so it can brown. Place on a plate with a towel over them to keep them warm. Don't get discouraged it takes a little time to get the right feel and movements.

Suggestions for fillings.
Desserts: We use a lot of marmalades or Jams (your choice of flavors) with whip cream or cinnamon. you can use fresh fruits and yogurt as well.
Breakfast: We use scrambled eggs for the main portion and add our favorites breakfasts meats to it.

Italian Bake French Fries

These are incredibly yummy and take no time at all.

Prep time 5 min
Cook time 30 min
Oven 350 Degrees


Italian Dressing premade
your favorite cheese shredded (we use mozzarella and Parmesan)
Potatoes (enough to fill you, remember they are addicting)

Put large amount of Italian Dressing in a bowl. Cut potatoes in 1/4 strips and put in dressing mix them until they are all coated. Place on a foil covered baking sheet. and bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Turn the potatoes over to cook the other side at this time place shredded cheese on each of the potato strips. Continue baking for 15 more minutes. Let cool for 5 min after they are baked.

Enjoy with your favorite dipping sauce or you can eat them plain.