Balsamic Pulled Pork

Ingredients
3-4 lbs pork tenderloin
5 dates (without pits)
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup coconut aminos (or soy sauce)
3 cloves garlic
1 onion

Directions
-Blend dates, vinegar, coconut aminos, garlic, and half of the onion in a blender or food processor.
-Spray your crockpot with non-stick spray and place pork tenderloin on the bottom.
-Cover with 1/2 of the sauce (save remaining sauce for later).
-Top with remaining onion.
-Season with salt and pepper.
-Cook on low for 6-8 hours (or high for 4-5 hours) until the pork pulls apart easily.
-Shred with two forks.
-Serve with remaining sauce.*

*When I made it, I forget to reserve any of the sauce, and it still tasted great.

Serve over buns, sweet potato buns, or baked potato.  My friend Taryn loves it over a baked sweet potato with a slaw-like salad on top.

Sally's Taco Salad

This recipe was contributed by Rachel Nielson.

My mother-in-law Sally has made this taco salad for years.  It is so tasty.  I've eaten it at their home countless times, but I finally made it myself the other night, and it was so easy.  

Ingredients:

-package of ground beef
-one can of Classic Stagg Chili
-tortilla chips
-one packet of Hidden Valley Ranch mix, prepared (this is the secret ingredient, I think!)
          -1 cup mayo and 1 cup milk to make the ranch
-chopped iceberg lettuce
-chopped tomato
-shredded cheddar cheese
-olives (optional)

1. Make and refrigerate the ranch.  This "homemade" ranch is so easy and sooooooo yummy--it really makes the entire salad!  Don't go with the pre-made stuff in the jar!  The ranch packets are so much better.

2. Brown the ground beef, pour off the grease, and add the can of chili.  Make sure the chili is heated through.

3.  Prepare the toppings (lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, olives, etc).

4.  Put a bed of tortilla chips on a plate, top with the beef/chili mixture, top with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, olives, and of course, the tasty ranch

YUM!

Spinach Tomato Tortellini

Contributed by Rachel Nielson

A friend made this for us a few weeks ago, and it was so yummy.  She gave me the recipe (from allrecipes.com), and I made it myself a few days ago, and I was amazed by how easy it is...and delicious!

Here's the link: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/spinach-tomato-tortellini/

Green Chili Cream Cheese Enchiladads

When I had a baby this spring my Aunt Jackie brought us these enchiladas.  I have many an enchilada recipe that I enjoy, but once I took one bit of these I knew they needed to be added into my recipe rotation.  I like it because they are yummy and creamy, but they are a little bit different because they do not use any cream soups, and they are topped with green enchilada sauce, which I love.

Green Chili Cream Cheese Enchiladas

6+ soft tortillas
8 oz. cream cheese
2 small cans diced green chiles
2 cups cooked, cubed or shredded chicken
28 oz can green enchilada sauce
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Saute cream cheese, green chiles, and pre-cooked chicken until it is warm and nicely combined.  Fill tortillas with meat mixture and some of the cheese, reserving some cheese to sprinkle on the top.  Roll up tortillas and place in a 9x13 baking dish sprayed with PAM.  Pour enchilada sauce on top and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.  Bake for 40 minutes at 375 degrees.

Ginger-Lime Chicken

This is a Weight Watchers recipe.  I tried it the other day and it was a huge hit with the whole fam.  Very flavorful!  We had it with grilled pineapple.  They say it serves 4 and is 5 points per serving, but we used bigger chicken breasts than 4 oz breasts, which is what they always use, so it was a bit more for us.

Ginger-Lime Chicken

Marinade:

**(WE DOUBLED THIS AMOUNT SINCE WE WERE USING 5 BIG CHICKEN BREASTS.)**

1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tsp. finely minced lime zest
3 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
2 Tbsp. finely minced or grated ginger root
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp. honey
1/2 cup fresh, chopped cilantro
1 Tbsp. chili oil (We didn't have any so we used normal vegetable oil with some hot sauce dashed into the marinade.)

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts (four 4 oz. pieces)
2 Tbsp. finely minced, uncooked scallions

Mix marinade ingredients in a large bowl.  Remove and reserve 2 Tbsp. of the marinade.  Add raw chicken to the bowl, tossing to make sure each piece is coated.  Refrigerate for 2 - 4 hours.  Grill or broil the chicken, brushing on the extra marinade toward the end of the cooking process.  Spring chicken with scallions and enjoy!

Crockpot BBQ Chicken

Rachel found this great recipe here and Pinned it.  We've been loving it ever since!  I usually double it.  I make one batch in my crockpot and put everything for the second batch into a freezer bag.  Then I dump it into the crockpot and just cook it for a bit longer on another lazy day.  YUM!!!!


Crockpot BBQ Chicken


4-6 pieces boneless skinless chicken breasts (She throws them in frozen... even easier!)

1 bottle BBQ sauce (Sweet Baby Ray's all the way!)
1/4 c vinegar
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/4 c brown sugar
1/2 - 1 tsp. garlic powder

Mix BBQ sauce with all ingredients listed under it.  Place chicken in crockpot.  Pour sauce over it and cook on LOW for 4-6 hours. Toward the end you can shred it up if you would like.  Then let it cook a bit longer and use it on rolls for yummy sandwiches!  You pretty much don't even have to stir it... how easy is that!?

Awesome Pancakes

This recipe was contributed by Rachel but was originally found in the America's Test Kitchen Cookbook.

We have "brinner" at our house at least once a week.  These pancakes are our favorite!  We love them with blueberries, but they'd also be good with chocolate chips.  If you really want to get decadent, serve with Buttermilk Syrup.  Yum!

2 cups flour
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups of buttermilk (you can do 2 cups of milk with 2 T lemon juice mixed in if you don't have buttermilk)
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg
1 cup blueberries (optional)
      *If you use frozen blueberries, thaw them and rinse them before adding to pancakes

1.  Melt the butter in the microwave, and immediately transfer it to the medium-sized mixing bowl you will use to whisk together your wet ingredients.  (I do this first because the butter needs to be cool before you add the buttermilk.)

2.  Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl.

3.  In the medium mixing bowl, add the buttermilk and egg to the cooled butter.

4.  Heat a skillet over medium heat.  Coat with cooking spray or brush with vegetable oil.

5.  Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients.  Gently whisk together  until just incorporated with a few lumps remaining.  (It is important not to overmix.  The lumps will disappear as the pancake cooks.)

6.  Scoop about 1/4 cup of batter onto the skillet.  If you are adding blueberries or chocolate chips, sprinkle a few over the top of the pancake now.

7.  Cook until large bubbles appear (about 2 minutes) and flip to the other side.  Cook until golden brown.

Penne with Roasted Asparagus and Balsamic Butter

We made this for dinner tonight from the Food and Wine website:

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/penne-with-roasted-asparagus-and-balsamic-butter


It was so incredibly easy, and I loved it because I love balsamic vinegar.  
In the future, I will cut down the amount of butter and add more asparagus.  It's not very often that I think a recipe has too much butter, but in this case, I did.

Enjoy!

P.S.  I don't know why the font above is so big.  Sorry.

Avocado "Pesto" Sauce

This might be the EASIEST recipe I have ever made in my entire life.  Seriously.  I think it took me less than five minutes to make. I added more garlic or more lemon to temper the taste of the avacado.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium sized ripe Avocado, pitted
• 1/2 lemon, juiced + lemon zest to garnish
• 2-3 garlic cloves, to taste (I used two)
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
• 1/4 cup fresh basil
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 servings/6 oz of your choice of pasta 
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 
  

Directions:

1. Bring several cups of water to a boil in a medium sized pot. Add in your pasta, reduce heat to medium, and cook until Al Dente, about 8-10 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, make the sauce by placing the garlic cloves, lemon juice, and olive oil into a food processor. Process until smooth. Now add in the pitted avocado, basil, and salt. Process until smooth and creamy.  The sauce will be thick, almost like guacamole.

3. When pasta is done cooking, drain and rinse in a strainer and place pasta into a large bowl. Pour on sauce and toss until fully combined. The warmth of the pasta will thin the sauce.  Garnish with lemon zest and black pepper. Serve immediately. (Don't try to save any of the sauce because it will go brown due to the avocado.)  Makes 2-3 servings.

Cranberry Chicken

Rachel keeps telling me over and over that she's the only person ever to post on this blog anymore, so I decided to contribute something new.  If you think about it, our lack of posts should just serve to reassure you that we truly ARE lazy chefs!  We are never going to be like Rachel Ray, whose recipes in her "30 Minute Meal" cookbook take me hours to make!  Sheesh!  No experimenting in the kitchen around here!

This recipe was my favorite of the loads of freezer meals that my awesome mother-in-law made for us when my son was born.  I love my meat a little sweet.  I haven't really made it a ton since then, but last month Rachel and I did a big cooking day when we made several freezer meals in one day---once again, so we could avoid cooking for a while---and we made this meal.  It reminded me of how crazy-easy it is.  You can throw all of the ingredients in a ziploc bag or a small foil pan in the freezer, or you could make it fresh.  Either way, it's yummy and great served over rice.

Cranberry Chicken

Chicken Breasts (4 - 6 or more....depends on how much sauce you want)

1 can whole cranberry sauce
1 package dry onion soup mix
8 ounces catalina dressing

Mix ingredients together.  Pour over chicken.  Bake for 1 - 1 1/2 hours at 350 degrees.  (Depending on whether or not it's totally thawed.  I usually bake it for an hour.)  Serve over rice.

"Guiltless" Alfredo Sauce (Our Best Bites)

This recipe was shared by Rachel Nielson

This is another recipe that I found in the Our Best Bites cookbook. It's very easy and fast.  I love fettuccine alfredo from the Olive Garden, so I was skeptical of this recipe which is a lower-fat version of the old classic.  I was so pleasantly surprised that it tasted so yummy!  (It's not Olive Garden good, but really, what can you expect??  I still thought it was delicious.)

You can serve it over pasta or on a pizza.

Check it out:  http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/08/guiltless-alfredo-sauce/

French Dip Sandwiches (Our Best Bites)

This recipe was shared by Rachel Nielson

I consider this blog to be a repository of EASY recipes, no matter where they come from.   None of the recipes is original (we are, after all, NOT chefs).  I recently got the Our Best Bites cookbook, and I have been trying several recipes each week (remember, I just became a stay-at-home mom for the first time).  I still hate cooking, but it's a little more fun when I have more time to do it.  Anyway...I tried this recipe from Our Best Bites last week, and my husband and I thought it was really tasty, and it was so easy.  

Give it a try:  http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/03/french-dip-sandwiches/

P.S.  Since it's just the two of us (plus our baby who doesn't eat anything but formula right now), I cut the roast in half, put the portion that I would not be using in a tupperware, added one of the packets of dry onion soup mix and one of the cans of beef broth, and froze it.  When I am ready to use it, I will dump it in a crock pot, add a cup of water, and add 1-2 hours on the cooking time.  (By the way, these were the freezer directions provided in the cookbook.  I am not smart enough to figure this out on my own.)

Poppyseed Spread for Hot Sandwiches

My mother-in-law recently made sandwiches using this spread for a wedding reception.  They turned out so delicious!  You can use any combination of deli meat and cheese that you would like.  I love ham and swiss or turkey and provolone.  Make a basic sandwich on a yummy soft roll (it doesn't matter what kind or what size--you decide).  Then spread some of this poppyseed mixture on the top of the sandwich (yes, on the outside).  Bake at 350 degrees just until the cheese is melted (5-10 minutes).  You want the spread on top of the sandwich to be moist, melty, and delicious.

Okay, and now for the recipe.

Mix together:

1 T poppyseeds
1 1/2 T yellow mustard
1 stick butter, softened but not totally melted
1 T minced onion
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

This spread is enough for at least 10 sandwiches, I'd say.  So you can half the recipe, or you can store the extra spread in your refrigerator for a quick lunch or dinner any time.  It will be good for a few weeks.

Sally Nielson Chicken

We got this recipe from Rachel's mother-in-law, Sally, so we just call it Sally Nielson chicken.  I'll never know what it's truly called.  But it is YUMMY!  I have served it to company and they always ask for the recipe, especially once I mention how easy it is!  Enjoy!

Sally Nielson Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts  (cut in 1/2)
Swiss cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup, mixed with 1/4 cup water
1 cup herb-seasoned stuffing, crushed
1/4 cup melted butter or margarine

Rice

Place chicken breasts in greased baking dish.  Place one big slice of swiss cheese over each piece of chicken.  Mix the cream of chicken soup with 1/4 cup water and pour over the top of the chicken.  Crush the croutons and spread over the top.  Melt butter or margarine and drizzle over the top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and serve over rice.

Pizza Pasta

This recipe was contributed by Tori Cox via Sarah McKenna.

Our friend Jessica calls this "the ultimate college recipe."  Translation: The easiest recipe in the world.  I agree wholeheartedly.  So easy and my little boy LOVES it!

Pizza Pasta

1 lb. penne noodles, cooked and drained
Pepperoni  (I used the minis, but Tori uses the big ones and cuts them up.)
A jar of your favorite store-bought pasta sauce (I use Classico brand.)
Shredded mozzarella cheese  (As much as you'd like.  I like a LOT.)

Boil noodles.  Drain and return to pot.  Dump jar of sauce and pepperonis into the pot and stir.  Dump the mixture into a greased casserole dish.  Top with shredded mozzarella cheese.  Bake at about 325 until warm and the cheese is melted.  (30 mins?)  We put foil over the top for the first 20 minutes so the cheese wouldn't get too crusty.

Ranch Crock-Pot Chicken

This recipe was contributed by Marie Newman.  When I had it at their house I was convinced that it was another one of Marie's amazing, time consuming concoctions.  Looks like another McKenna family staple!  :)

Ranch Crock-Pot Chicken

4 chicken breasts
1 cup ranch dressing
2 cups mozzarella cheese

Cook 4-5 hours in a crock-pot on low heat.  Serve over rice.

Pecos Pasta

This recipe was contributed by Chelsea Fisher, via Sarah McKenna.

Pecos Pasta  

4 cups multicolored pasta spirals, cooked, rinsed, and drained

½ cup sliced green onions

2 cups diced tomato

1 can chopped green chiles, drained

1 small can sliced black olives, drained

1 cup frozen corn, thawed

2 T chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

2 T lime juice

1 cup medium salsa (or more)

Salt to taste

Toss all ingredients together in a large bowl.  Add enough salsa to moisten well.  Refrigerate. 

 (I've found that the salsa soaks in and it gets a little dry, so right before you serve it, add more salsa.)

Teriyaki Chicken Alfredo

This recipe was contributed by Janelle Dobson.  She says that this is her #1 company dinner that she pulls out when she wants to impress her guests, and it's still super easy!  Score!  It's heavy and rich, but oh-so-delicious.  Enjoy!  

Teriyaki Chicken Alfredo

 
2 large Chicken breasts
1/2 cup Soy Vay Veri Veri Teriyaki Sauce  
1 packet Alfredo sauce 
1/8- 1/4 cup dried parsley
2 teaspoons dried basil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup whipping cream
 
Cooked fettuccini
 
Directions:
Thinly slice chicken and onions.  Lightly season chicken with salt and pepper and saute chicken and onions in large skillet with a little olive oil.  When chicken is cooked through, dump the rest of the ingredients in the skillet, stir to mix.  Let bubble to thicken, serve over pasta.
 
Notes from the chef:


I sometimes add sliced zucchini and mushrooms or some other veggies that I saute with the chicken.  I know a friend that adds asparagus and loves it.  


I have substituted the whipping cream for my son's whole milk or half and half and it is okay, but not ideal.  I guess you could try using plain milk if you want to ease up on the calories, but you'll lose a lot of richness.  


Though I am usually the queen of substituting brand ingredients to save a buck, I wouldn't dream of doing it with this dish- this specific teriyaki sauce makes this dish- it is really strong and vibrant, but the good news is since you only use 1/2 a cup, a jar of it will go for many meals.  Be sure to shake the bottle really good to break up the minced garlic that floats up the top of the container.

This recipe was contributed by Chelsea Fisher.  Here's what she has to say about it:

Don't be afraid of the "clams" in the title! It's a very good, garlicky pasta dish. I got it from my neighbors who lived in Italy for several years when they were young whipper-snappers, and it's my husband's absolute favorite. I served it to my extended family, including some outspoken family members who are picky eaters. One of them wasn't crazy about the texture of the clams (not her exact words), but she loved the flavor and made it herself just using clam juice without the clams.

Linguine with Clam Sauce

1/2 cup butter (or margarine) 

½ cup butter (or margarine)

¼ cup olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

2 cans (6 ½ oz each) chopped clams

1 tsp. oregano leaves

1 tsp. dry basil leaves

¼ tsp. crushed red pepper

(or use 2 1/4 tsp of Italian seasoning instead of the separate herbs)

one bunch fresh parsley, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups once you're done chopping)

1 lb. linguine

Boiling salted water

Following package directions, cook linguine in a large kettle of boiling, salted water until al dente; then drain.  

Meanwhile,

-Heat butter and oil in a 2-quart pan over low heat.  Add garlic and sautee about 4 minutes.  Don’t let butter scorch (which is why I use margarine-- it doesn't scorch).  

-Drain juice from 2 cans clams into butter mixture. Increase heat to medium, add oregano, basil, pepper, and parsley to pan and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes.  

-Add drained clams and heat through. 

Toss linguine with clam sauce.  Makes 5 or 6 large servings.

Two more notes:

- The store sells chopped clams and minced clams (we like Snow brand the best). Both types work just fine, but the difference is that chopped clams are bigger pieces, and minced clams are smaller and less chewy. I prefer the minced, but both are lovely.

- It works best to let the pasta sit 5-10 minutes before you serve it. This way, the sauce soaks in a bit and doesn't just run to the bottom of the dish.

Meatball Soup

This recipe was contributed by Tia Hammer Stokes via Sarah McKenna.  Here's what Tia has to say about it:


This is extra nice to come inside to after you've been out in the snow. It was created by my mother-in-law, Pearl Stokes. Our house LOVES it! Even my picky toddlers love the noodles.

Meatball Soup

2 small package frozen meatballs (cut in half)
Note: if you like more or less meatballs, just adjust to taste.
1 jar Ragu PIZZA sauce
1 large can chicken broth. **If you have bullion handy instead of a can, I use about 8 cups of water and 8 cubes of bullion.
1/2 package of bow tie noodles (we use the whole package) **these noodles will soak up a good deal of your broth so add broth/bullion as you like.

Here comes the easy part. Put it all in a big pot and let it simmer until everything is tender. Done! Yes! Even the UNCOOKED pasta! It will cook in the soup itself and soak up all the yumminess. 

Note: I let my meatballs thaw so they are easier to cut. My mother in law serves this in bowls over fresh spinach (this keeps it from getting slimy), but no one but me in my house likes spinach so I don't. It's great on it's own!