Easy Weeknight Favorites

A few of my favorite ones that we posted last year! (Click to view)

Beef Fried Rice

Crock Pot Southwestern Chicken

Pineapple Chicken Burgers

Skillet Lasagna

Turkey Pesto Sandwich

Creme Brulee Cheesecake Bars

Yum! These were at my cousins reception and they were delicious! I definitely want to make some now that I have the recipe!

Crème Brûlée Cheesecake Bars from Betty Crocker

1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® sugar cookie mix

1 box (4-serving size) French vanilla instant pudding and pie filling

Mix 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar

1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

2 eggs plus 3 egg yolks

2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup sugar

2/3 cup toffee bits, finely crushed

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray bottom and sides of 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, stir cookie mix, pudding mix, brown sugar, melted butter, 1 teaspoon of the vanilla and 1 whole egg until soft dough forms. Press dough in bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of pan.

2. In small bowl, beat cream cheese, sour cream and sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add remaining whole egg, 3 egg yolks and remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla; beat until smooth. Spread over crust in pan.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until set in center. Immediately sprinkle top with crushed toffee bits. Cool 30 minutes. Refrigerate about 3 hours or until chilled. For bars, cut into 9 rows by 4 rows. Store covered in refrigerator. Makes 36 bars

Easy Shredded Chicken

Sorry, no picture, cause its just shredded chicken.....I'm pretty sure you can imagine what that looks like!

Fall is coming and I am getting that urge to deep clean my house and be organized. So many times, I realize its five o'clock and I'm unprepared for dinner, even though I try to plan ahead. I went to Costco and bought a huge bag of chicken and a case of diced tomatoes to make this since it freezes so well. I did 4 breasts and froze it in 2 cup quantities. I ended up with 4 cups and enough extra to have some for dinner. I'm planning on doing another batch tomorrow to freeze again, along with this recipe for basic shredded chicken that my sister shared with me. I hate it so bad when I pull out a recipe that calls for cooked chicken and I'm not prepared for it! I figured this is a good thing to keep in the freezer for those days!

~Simple Shredded Chicken~
3-4 chicken breasts
1 can chicken broth
2 tablespoons McCormick Montreal Seasoning
Place everything in crockpot,
cook on low 8-9 hours
high 4 hours.
Freeze!
(You can use Montreal Steak or Montreal Chicken,
just depends on your preference
or what you have on hand.)

So many uses for this! Use this recipe instead of buying a rotisserie chicken at the store.

Cheese Stuffed Shells

From foodnetwork Magazine.

I made this last night. It's a pretty good vegetarian meal (youre supposed to use tofu but I opted NOT to use it). It's not quite as good as Jan's Lasagna but thats because it's better for you :) Imagine that! I halfed it and it made plenty for us, we have a little more than half a pan left. I'll let you know how leftovers are.

Ingredients
For the Sauce:
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup grated carrot
1/2 cup grated zucchini
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped celery
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
Freshly ground pepper

For the Shells:
1 12-ounce box jumbo pasta shells
8 ounces silken tofu, mashed (I just omitted this and added more mozz cheese :)
1 10-ounce box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 1/2 cups cottage cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 clove garlic, minced
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Cooking spray

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Make the sauce: Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the carrot, zucchini, onion and celery and saute until soft but not brown, 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the basil, oregano, tomato paste, crushed tomatoes and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, prepare the shells: Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook for 8 minutes; drain. Mix the tofu, spinach, cottage cheese, parmesan, 1/2 cup mozzarella, the egg and garlic in a medium bowl and season with salt and pepper.
Mist a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Spread about 1 cup of the sauce in the dish. Stuff the cheese mixture into the shells and place in the baking dish, open-side up. Pour the remaining sauce over the shells. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup mozzarella and bake for 15 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving.

Peach Scones

Mmmmm more peach recipes :) These look so good. They would be good with raspberry jam (I have always loved the combination of raspberry and peach), or maybe even some peach jam. Or would that be peach over load? No, not possible. haha

Peach Scones (from TwoPeas)
2 cups all purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

4 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

3/4 cup heavy cream

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1 cup diced, peeled peaches
4 tablespoons heavy cream, for brushing the tops of the scones

2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar, for sprinkling on top

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Drop the cubes of butter over the flour mixture. Cut in the butter using a pastry blender, or your hands. Work until the mixture resembles course meal.
3. In a small bowl or glass measuring cup, whisk together the heavy cream, egg, vanilla, and almond extract. Pour over the flour and butter mixture. Mix with a spatula or wooden smooth just until the dough comes together. Do not over mix. Carefully fold in the chopped peaches.
4. Transfer the dough to a flour surface and gently form into a ball. Flatten the dough into a round disk, about 3/4 inches high. Using a biscuit cutter, cut scones into circles and place on a baking sheet. You can cut scones into wedges.
5. Lightly brush scones with heavy cream and sprinkle generously with cinnamon and sugar. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Let scones cool on a wire rack before serving.
Makes 14 small scones

Peach Vanilla Syrup

*From The Sisters Dish

Ingredients:

• 5 cups peaches(pureed)
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 T. lemon juice
• 2 t. vanilla

Directions: Bring first 3 ingredients to a boil, and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add vanilla and stir well. Pour into hot, sterile jars and screw the hot lids and rings on tight.
Process the syrup in a boiling hot water bath for ~15 minutes, to make sure that any bacteria is killed. Start timing when the water comes to a full boil. Set jars out and listen for the pop to ensure they have sealed.

*This is what I will be doing tomorrow with my sister so I will post a picture when we are done! I'm super excited, I think its going to be way yummy!!

**Okay update! We made this and it was so good! The first batch, we forgot to add vanilla, oops! But it still tastes good. In the other batches, we put it in, but you can't really taste it, so if you want a stronger flavor, add more. We doubled it, so 10 cups of pureed peaches, and we got 7 pints out of it. We ended up with about 21 pints when it was all said and done.

Buttery Onion Corn on the Cob

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 envelope onion soup mix
• 4 medium ears sweet corn, husks removed

Directions

• In a small bowl, combine butter and soup mix; rub over corn. Place each ear of corn on a 12-in. x 10-in. piece of heavy-duty foil. Fold foil over corn and seal tightly.
• Bake at 450° for 15-20 minutes or until corn is tender, turning once.

*Dallas was a little skeptical when I told him this is what I wanted to make, but we loved it! It's baked in butter, you can't go wrong with that. I baked the corn for about 17 minutes and it was perfect! I halved it for us, and just used half a stick of butter and there was plenty. I think next time, for just 2 ears of corn I will do about 2 tablespoons of butter.

Blueberry Muffins

From Taste of Home Baking Classics Cookbook

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
• 
  TOPPING:
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

• In a large bowl, combine oats and orange juice; let stand for 5 minutes. Beat in the egg, oil and sugar until blended. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda; stir into oat mixture just until moistened. Fold in blueberries.
• Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Combine topping ingredients; sprinkle over batter. Bake at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm. Yield: about 1 dozen.

Note: If using frozen blueberries, use without thawing to avoid discoloring the batter.

*Dallas made these for breakfast yesterday, can you believe it! We've been married for 8 years and this is the first time he has ever baked anything!! They were really good too! Be generous with the topping.

Raspberry Lemon Whoopie Pies

*From Martha Stewart Everyday Food Magazine
I couldn't get the picture to download so just click on the link to see what they look like!

Makes 15

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
• 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons light-brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup fresh raspberries (4 ounces)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter, 1 cup brown sugar, and lemon zest until light and creamy. Add vanilla and egg and beat to combine, scraping down bowl as needed. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With mixer on low, beat in flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with milk and ending with flour mixture (scrape bowl as needed). Beat well to combine.
2. Drop batter in 2-tablespoon mounds, about 2 inches apart, onto two parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until puffed and pale golden around edges, 17 to 19 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let cakes cool completely on sheets on wire racks.
3. In a large bowl, whip cream and 3 tablespoons brown sugar to soft peaks. In a small bowl, mash raspberries with a fork, then fold into whipped cream. Divide raspberry cream evenly among bottoms of half the cakes, then sandwich with remaining cakes. Dust with powdered sugar.
   

Mmmmm! So good! It says to drop in 2 TBS mounds, but stay on the smaller side. Ours turned out huge.

Strawberry Limeade

Must be summer... Look at all the cold drinks we're putting on here :)

This is from 2peas and looks yummy. I think I might try it with Raspberries and Lemons (since thats what I have).

*Ingredients

1-1/2 cups quartered fresh strawberries

1 cup fresh lime juice
5 cups cold water

3/4 to 1 cup granulated sugar (depending on how sweet the strawberries are)

Ice cubes

Lime slices-for serving, if desired

*Directions
1. Blend strawberries and lime juice in blender or food processor until smooth.
2. Pour strawberry and lime mixture into a large pitcher. Add cold water and sugar. Stir until sugar dissolves.
3. Add in ice cubes and pour into individual glasses. Garnish with lime, if desired.
4. Pour over ice cubes in tall glasses; garnish each with strawberry or lime wedge, if desired.

Banana Orange Icee

1 banana
1 1/2 cups orange juice
tray of ice cubes

Mix well in blender. Yum!

* This is what I make for the boys instead of giving them popsicles on hot days - its just a little bit healthier.

Easy Greek Salad

Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Yellow Peppers
Orange Peppers
-Chop into bite size pieces. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Drizzle with Italian dressing or olive oil. Mix well.

Optional:
Feta Cheese
Kalmata Olives

I make this almost every night. We love it!

Sweet and Spicy Crockpot Chicken

Sweet and Spicy Slow-Cooker Chicken

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 (14 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes, undrained
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (I used 1/4 teaspoon)

Coat the inside of your crockpot with non-stick cooking spray. Place all ingredients in the crockpot. Cook on high for 4-6 hours or on low for 8-10 hours, or until chicken shreds very easily with a fork. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Chicken will absorb liquid after it is shredded.)

* I found this on My Kitchen Cafe a while ago and made it a few times, but I had forgotten about it until I saw it again on Sisters Cafe. Simple and easy! If you wanted to give it more flavor, you could probably use one of the many different types of diced tomatoes. I use it for chicken tacos and quesedillas. The first time I made it, the chicken absorbed all the water, but today it was really watery. Go figure. We like it best in just plain old chicken and cheese quesedillas, dipped in your Cafe Rio Creamy Cilantro Dressing.

Home Made Granola

This is absolutely delicious with yogurt and fresh fruit (raspberries, strawberries, even peaches). I have had it almost every day for breakfast. I have eated 2 batches ALL BY MYSELF!

Mix and set aside
- 4 cups oats
- 1 cup sunflower seeds (can add other nuts or leave out entirely)
- 1 cup wheat germ
- ½ cup wheat bran or blend up All Bran)
- 1/3 cup powdered milk
- ½ t salt
- 3 t cinnamon

Over medium heat, mix until sugar dissolves and boil for 2 minutes*.
- ¾ cup oil
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup honey
- 1 tsp. vanilla

1. Poor the mixture over the dry ingredients and place in a 9 x 13 pan.
2. Cook at 300 degrees for 15 minutes. Stir and cook an additional 15 minutes. Feel free to add raisins and dried banana chips after the first 10 minutes

*if you want crunchier granola in larger clumps boil the sugar mixture longer.

Haggen's Chicken Panini Sandwich

When we lived in Portland, there was a grocery store down the street from us called Haggen. Best store ever! We loved it. They always had the best sandwiches in their deli and this was one of our favorites. I have been craving it lately, but couldn't remember what was in it, so I emailed the store and they sent me the recipe. I was too hungry and excited that I forgot to take a picture!

Pesto Mayonnaise
-1 Lb Best Foods Mayonnaise
-2 Ounces Pesto
*Obviously I didn't do this much, I just mixed a small part of each.

CHICKEN PANINI
1 ea Soft Hoagie Roll
Pesto Mayonnaise
Shaved Asiago (I splurged and bought Asiago and it was worth it!)
Avocado sliced
Red Onion, sliced
Chicken Breast (from the deli counter)
sprinkle Kosher Salt
sprinkle Black Pepper, ground
Pesto Mayonnaise

Layer ingredients in order given. Super yummy!

*Maybe I'll remember to take a picture tomorrow when I make these again for lunch!