Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo

Happy St. Patricks Day!!!

Ingredients:

Fettuccine Noodles

2 chicken breasts

Bertolli creamy alfredo sauce

Directions:

Cook noodles.

Grill chicken breasts on George forman. Cut into small bit size pieces.

Add chicken and sauce into a large skillet and heat sauce.

Verdict:

This was a very simple and tasty meal. If you're into making everything by scratch this isn't the recipe for you. Always interesting what turns out green on St. Patricks Day. Not only did the little guys turn our milk green, they got to our whole meal!! Despite the nasty looks, this meal really tasted fantastic

Ratings:

Ashley:8 belches

Scott: 7.9 grunts

Payton: 10 wags

One Pot Dinner

Ingredients:

 1 lb. ground beef

1 lb. bacon

1 onion

2 cans pork and beans

1 can kidney beans

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup ketchup

1 Tbsp liquid smoke

3 Tbsp white vinegar

1 tsp salt

dash of pepper

Directions:

 Brown beef in a skillet. Add to crockpot.

Brown bacon. Add to crockpot.

Brown onion. Add onion and remaining ingredients into crock pot.

Stir well. Cook in crockpot for low for 4 to 9 hours or high 2 to 4 hours.

Verdict:

 We really liked this. It's definitely full of beans.. if you know what I mean. I felt like it was really hearty and needed to go on a potato or on rice or something.. Don't get me wrong though, it was delicious. Thanks mom for helping me find the liquid smoke (by the BBQ sauce). This made a ton of food so we had tons of left overs (which were just as good as day one).

Ratings:

Ashley: 7 belches

Scott: 6 grunts

Payton: 10 wags

Chop Suey

Ingredients:

 Steak

1 Onion

 3 Hard boiled eggs

Beef broth

Spaghetti noodles

Directions:

 Cut steak into cubes (I just used stew meat) and cook in a skillet.

Hard boil eggs and cut into chunks. Chop up the onion.

Add egg, onion, and meat. Cook noodles.

Serve egg, onion, and meat on top of noodles and pour hot beef broth over the top.

Verdict:

 I think our taste buds aren't acquired to this meal. It wasn't one that either one of us liked. To me i think it was just too flavorless. I added salt and that helped a little but still didn't give it what it needed.. We probably won't be cooking this one again.

Ratings:

Ashley: 3 belches

Scott: 2 grunts

Payton: 10 wags

Chicken Pot Pie

PIE DAY!!!! (3-14)

Ingredients:

2 pre-made frozen pie crusts

1 potato

1 cup frozen corn and peas

baby carrots

10 ounces canned chicken (drained)

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 cup milk

Directions:

Take one of the pie crusts and lay in out flat to defrost.

Cube the potatoes.

Add potatoes, corn, peas, carrots and canned chicken into pie crust.

 In a seperate bowl add cream of chicken and milk, mix well.

Pour mixture over vegetables and chicken.

Put the thawed pie crust on top of the pie. Cut design or slits into it for venting.

(wet edges pie to make it easier to pinch together.)

Cook for 1 hour at 350 degrees.

Verdict:

This was surprisingly good. Putting it all together I had no idea how it would end up. My edges didn't mesh well together and I felt like I ran out of room to put everything in there. So if it doesn't all fit don't worry, I had the same problem!! Maybe cook it a little longer too or cook the carrots before, because our carrots were a bit hard still. Overall it was a good meal though!

Ratings:

Ashley: 7.5 belches

Scott: 6.5 grunts

Payton: 10 wags

I don't usually put up desserts, but it celebration of PIE DAY we had banana cream pie for dessert. Thanks Aunt DeeAnn for the recipe! It was delicious!!

Hawaiian Chicken

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts

Salt and pepper

Flour

1 green pepper (sliced)

1 small onion (sliced)

1 can pineapple (add juice to rest of ingredients)

1 chicken bouillon cube dissolved in 1/2 cup hot water

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons cornstarch

Directions:

Roll chicken in salt, pepper, and flour and brown in oil in a skillet.

Place browned chicken in casserole dish.

In a large skillet saute pepper and onion in small amount of butter. Add pineapple.

Mix all the other ingredients together and combine with vegetables.

Pour over the chicken. Bake for one hour at 325 degrees. Serve with rice.

Verdict:

We really liked this one! I felt like the instructions were a bit vague.. how much flour do you need? How much salt and how much pepper? What I ended up doing was just rolling the chicken in flour and then adding salt and pepper when it was in the skillet. I also think next time I'll cut the green pepper a little smaller. I loved the flavor they added but didn't like eating the big slices. This was pretty easy to make and overall this meal was very good and very filling!!

Ratings:

Ashley: 8.5 belches

Scott: 8.3 grunts

Payton: 10 wags

Chicken Parmesan Subs

Ingredients:

2 frozen breaded chicken breast patties

1 cup Ragu spaghetti sauce

2 submarine rolls

1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Cook chicken patties as directed on package label. 

Warm spaghetti sauce in a small saucepan.

Cut submarine rolls in half. 

Place bottom half on cookie sheet, put the chicken patty on it, 

and load it with spaghetti sauce and mozzarella cheese. 

Place in the oven to broil til cheese melts. Remove from oven, place the top of the roll on, and enjoy!

Verdict:

Eh... it was ok. My thoughts were I'll never cook it again. Scott said it's one of those meals you'll make when you're running the kids around all day, come home and are in no mood to cook, so you throw this together really quick. So definitely not a favorite in either one of our books. Just so you know, I didn't get specific with measuring the cheese or spaghetti sauce.. just use whatever amount you think looks good is my opinion. But my real suggestion is not to try this one at home.. you might regret it. Scott, however, says give it a try!

Ratings:

Ashley: 5 belches

Scott: 6 grunts

Payton: 10 wags (as usual)

Cheese Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:

 2 chicken bouillon cubes

2 cups water

1/2 cup diced celery

3/4 c cubed potatoes

1/2 cup shredded carrots

1/2 cup diced onions

5 ounces frozen chopped broccoli

5 ounces frozen chopped cauliflower

1 can cream of chicken soup

5 ounces cubed velveeta cheese

Directions:

Dissolve chicken bouillon cubes in water

Add celery, potatoes, carrots, and onions. Simmer for 15 minutes with a lid.

Add broccoli and cauliflower. Simmer for 15 minutes more with a lid. 

Add cream of chicken soup and velveeta cheese. Heat until cheese is melted.

Verdict:

LOVED IT!! The amount of ingredients looks overwhelming but it really is so easy to make and oh so good! We had it in bread bowls (from Smiths) and were full to the brim. I got this recipe from a church ward cookbook, so thanks Joyce, we loved it!! I'm gonna be honest here I'm no cooking pro so I'm not sure exactly how to cube, dice, chop, mince or do any of those terms... I just cut stuff up and it worked out. And in case anyone is wondering 2 celery sticks will do the trick for a half cup, 1 potato "cubed" gave me more than 3/4 cup, and half an onion diced up came to about 1/2 cup. I also cheated on the broccoli and cauliflower and bought a combo pack with both that came to equal 12 ounces, everything still tasted fine. Simple, easy recipe and so delicious! I would recommend it to anyone!!

Rating:

Ashley: 9 belches

Scott: 8.5 grunts

Payton: 10 wags 

Shredded Pork Sandwiches

Ingredients:

Lloyds shredded pork meat

Rolls

Directions:

Heat meat in microwave as directed on package label.

Cut rolls in half. Fill with meat and enjoy!

Verdict:

I must admit this was a bit of a lazy meal! I ran out of time to put meat in the crock pot and Scott said they have packaged shredded pork so we bought it and it worked out great. I'm not a huge fan of shredded pork sandwiches to begin with so my opinion doesn't matter on this one (when you have to cook something new every day you end up making things you don't neccesarily love..). I will say that considering that it came out of a package it didn't taste too bad. Scott, however, loved this dinner. 

Rating: 

Ashley: 3 belches
Scott: 7 grunts 
Payton: 10 wags 

Spicy Orange Chicken

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons pepper

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespooon seasoned salt

2 chicken breasts

4 tablespoons butter

1 (18 oz.) jar orange marmalade

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions:

Cut chicken into smaller chunks. 

In a large ziplock bag, combine salts and pepper. 

Add chicken and toss it to evenly coat. 

Melt the butter in a large skillet and add the chicken. 

Cook for 20 minutes or until thoroughly cooked.

Remove chicken from skillet, wipe it out with paper towels and add the marmalade and the cayenne.

Bring to a boil and heat for 3 minutes. 

Add the chicken back in and cook for 5 minutes. 

Turn the chicken so it's evenly coated with the glaze. 

Verdict:

Blah... neither one of us loved this dinner, and we'll probably never cook it again. I thought it tasted too much like oranges, and Scott said it was too much pepper. Also, they aren't spicy at all.. The picture in the recipe book (Rush Hour Recipes) looked great, but these were a big let down! For some reason it wasn't very filling either. We both had the munchies right after we finished dinner.. which doesn't usually happen for us! This is one to cross off in the cookbook and never make again. 

Rating:

Ashley: 0 belches
Scott: 1 grunt (because pepper was caught in his throat)
Payton: 10 wags (bad behavior after) 

Chicken Cordon Bleu Pasta

Ingredients:

1/2 Package bow tie pasta

1 can sliced olives

2 slices of ham

2 chicken breasts

1 package mushrooms

Sauce:

1 cube butter

3 tablespoons flour

2 cups milk

3/4 cup parmesan cheese

Directions:

Cook bow tie pasta as directed on package.

Cook chicken on George Forman. Cut into small bite size chunks.

Slice ham into small inch by inch squares.

In a medium skillet saute mushrooms in butter.

Add mushrooms, olives, ham and chicken together.

Sauce:

Melt butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour until its dissolved.

Add milk and stir on medium heat. Wait until this thickens and then add parmsan cheese.

Verdict:

Very filling meal! We had so many leftovers because after putting everything together you end up with a lot of food!! We weren't huge fans of the sauce. It was a bit on the grainy side and not exactly what we were wanting for this pasta. I think I'll search out another sauce for the next time I make this. It's a great meal idea.. it just needs a little polishing up next time around! 

Rating:

Ashley: 6 belches
Scott: 6 grunts
Payton: 10 wags 

Chicken Rolls

Ingredients:

2 Chicken breasts

Asparagus sprigs

Pepperjack cheese

1 Chicken bouillon cube

3 cups Water

Directions:

Boil water and add bouillon cube to make broth.

Flatten chicken breasts until 1/2 inch thick.

Saute asparagus in butter in a skillet.

Place a thick slice of pepperjack cheese and 3 asparagus sprigs on the flattened chicken.

Roll the chicken up and secure with a toothpick or two.

Place in a crock pot and pour broth over.

Add an asparagus sprig on top of each chicken roll.

Cook in the crock pot on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-6 hours.

Verdict:

Thanks to Jodi from work for this recipe! It was so good! She warned me to put a lot of cheese in because it seems to disappear in the cooking.. I apparently didn't listen. I couldn't taste the cheese at all.. so next time I'll add even more! Maybe one on top of each roll and maybe 2 slices inside each. Even without the cheese it was still a very good meal!! I added the broth because I was worried the chicken would dry it. It turned out perfect!! We loved this dinner!

Rating:

Ashley: 7 belches

Scott: 7 grunts

Payton: 10 wags

Stroganoff

Ingredients:

1/2 Package spiral noodles

1 lb Ground beef

1 package Sliced mushrooms

2 cans Cream of mushroom soup

Directions:

Cook noodles in saucepan as directed on package label.

In a medium frying pan, saute mushrooms in butter.

Brown meat in a large saucepan.

Drain grease and add cans of cream of mushroom soup.
Add sauted mushrooms.

Serve soup mixture over noodles.

Verdict:

Very delicious. Scott gave me the idea to add the sliced mushrooms and it made the stroganoff amazing!! It's a recommendation I would give to anyone! This is another one of those meals that I don't like reheated, but Scott ate the leftovers just fine. This is a very filling meal that is pretty simple to put together!

Rating:

Ashley: 7.5 belches
Scott: 8 grunts
Payton: 10 wags

Biscuits and Gravy

Ingredients:

1 lb Country sausage

4 Tablespoons butter

4 Tablespoons flour

2 Cups milk

1 package Pillsbury biscuits

Directions

Brown country sausage in a large skillet.

In a medium saucepan melt butter and add flour. Stir until it's a pasty mixture. Add milk.

Add gravy to browned sausage. Turn heat to down to low to keep the gravy warm.

Cook the biscuits as directed on label.

Pour gravy over cooked biscuits and enjoy!

Verdict:

This was very good! I had to take it to work so I didn't eat it fresh after it was made, but even warmed up it tasted great! I felt like there were a million dishes after cooking this, but it was good so it was worth the clean up. We each had 2 biscuits and were full so we had a leftovers, which still tasted fantastic! If more gravy is needed follow the ratio of 2 TBS butter, 2 TBS flour to 1 cup of milk. I'm guessing the kind of milk doesn't really matter. We used 1%, I know my mom uses skim, so probably any kind works.

Rating:

Ashley: 8 belches
Scott: 6 grunts
Payton: 10 wags

Classic Roast

Ingredients:

Roast (rump, sirloin tip, whatever you prefer..)

Garlic powder

Garlic salt

2 Potatoes

1/2 Bag of carrots

1 Yellow onion

Directions:

Put roast in the crockpot.
Sprinkle garlic powder and salt over it for flavor.

Cut up potatos and onion.
Add carrots, onion, and potatos to crockpot.

Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or high for 4 to 6 hours.

Verdict:

Put some worcestershire with the roast and some ketsup with the veggies and what a fantastic meal!! And super easy to throw together in the morning!! Roast is a classic, of course we liked it. Scott ate all the leftover meat throughout the week (I don't really like reheated roast.. but that's just me). Loved this great, easy meal!

Rating:

Ashley: 7 belches
Scott: 10 grunts
Payton: 10 wags

Amazing Ribs

Ingredients:

2 Lbs short ribs

1 cup Franks hot sauce

1 cup brown sugar

Directions:

Cook ribs in crock pot for 6 to 8 hours on low.

Then drain the fat and put ribs on cookie sheet.

In a medium saucepan combine hot sauce and brown sugar. Bring to a boil for one minute.

After a minute remove from heat and let it sit for 5 minutes. Sauce should be slightly thick. Pour over ribs and cook in the oven for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Verdict:

Delicious!! Sauce tastes a lot like Wingers Amazing Sauce, which is pretty hot! Scott and I couldn't get enough of these. I served them with some asparagus and baked beans. It doesn't get much better than that!! Even leftovers were delicious. My mom usually makes these with a rack of ribs, but I couldn't find any at the store, and these turned out just great anyways! Not the quickest meal to prepare, but definitely worth it if you've got a little time on your hands to cook it. 

Rating:

Ashley: 8 belches
Scott: 8.5 grunts
Payton: 10 wags

Chicken Puffs

Ingredients:

2 Chicken breasts

1/2 Package cream cheese

Pillsbury crescent rolls 

Garlic salt

2 Green onions

Directions:

Cook chicken on George Forman and sprinkle garlic salt on top for flavor.

Shred meat when completely cooked.

Add cream cheese and green onions. Mix well.

Roll out each crescent roll and put a spoonful of the meat mixture into each crescent.

Roll up the crescent and pinch it closed.

Place on a cookie sheet and cook for the amount of time specified for the crescent rolls.

Verdict:

 Thanks to Jenna from work for the recipe!! I felt like they were a bit on the oniony side of things so next time around I wouldn't add as much onion to them. Jenna told me to blend everything in the blender.. but it just seemed to clog mine up. Maybe I've got a weak blender? Anyways these were still very delicious! We had a side salad, carrots and 2 puffs each and were stuffed!

Rating:

Ashley: 7.5 belches
Scott: 7.8 grunts
Payton: 10 wags

Nacho Supreme

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

1 can manwhich

1 can chicken gumbo soup

cheddar cheese

monteray jack cheese

1 bag of tortilla chips

Directions:

Brown meat in a frying pan. Add manwhich and chicken gumbo soup to browned meat.

Pour bag of tortilla chips onto cookie sheet pan.

Spread meat mixture and grated cheese onto chips.

Broil for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Verdict:

We loved these!! Scott gave me the idea to put a sloppy joe meat mixture onto tortilla chips and it turned out great! Very quick and easy meal. I used whatever cheese we had in the fridge, so I'm sure any combination would be fine. We ate about half the pan between the two of us and had to throw the leftovers out

Rating:

Ashley: 7.4 belches out of 10
Scott: 8.2 grunts out of 10
Payton: 10 wags out of 10