Mexican chicken spaghetti

I really liked this dish, which was surprising.  I haven't cared much for chicken lately.   I thought it was from having eaten vegetarian for a long time, but after finding out I was pregnant, I've decided that maybe I can just blame it on pregnancy.  This is one of the fist meals I tried when trying chicken again and I really liked it.  Some of my favorite things about this meal were - 1) it was easy, 2) the spaghetti cooked in the crock pot, 3) it wasn't as spicy as the chicken spaghetti's I've had in the past, and 4)it didn't have any cream of anything soups.  Good recipe if you ask me.  It was nice and creamy with a great flavor. 

Ingredients

• 1 pound boneless, sinless cicken breast
• 1 can black beans (rinsed and drained)
• 2 cups salsa (I'm partial to Jack's sold at costco - fresh salsa with a hint of lime.  Yum!)
• 2 cups frozen corn
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 8 oz spaghetti noodles, broken into small pieces
• 2 - 3 cups hot water
• 8 oz cream cheese

Directions

1. Place chicken in the bottom of a 5 quart crock pot.  Add beans, salsa, corn, salt and pepper.  Pour 1 cup of water over the top.
2. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.
3. Remove the chicken and shred.  Return to the crock.  Add 2 cups hot water (original said 3 but a comment said they did 2 and so did I.  I may have added 1/2 cup more, I can't remember.  If you don't look like you have enough water, feel free to add 3 cups.  You just want enough to be able to submerge your noodles, but not so they look like they are drowning.  You don't want soup in the end.)  Add broken spaghetti noodles.  Push down to submerge.  Turn crock to high and cook for 45 minutes-1 hour.  
4. Turn off crock.  Add cream cheese and let melt.  (I cut my cream cheese into squares before adding to speed up the melting process.  Stir and serve. 

Asian maple chicken

I have done a lot of crock pot recipes lately.  I used to make more on my piano lesson days but had gotten out of the habit.  I started back and have really liked it. 
This recipe comes from an e-book called crock on.  I've liked a lot of the recipes I've tried there.  What I like most is that they use real food for the most part.  Not cans of cream of something this and that.
This recipe originally called for 1 1/2 lbs of chicken breast.  I had 3 1 lb packages of thighs in my freezer so I used one and added a can of mayacoba beans (you could use pinto or navy if you want.)  I liked the beans just fine but my 14 year old didn't.  No one else complained about them.  They kind of don't go with the whole asian aspect of the meal, so feel free to leave them out.  I was just trying to use less meat and add some fiber in the process.  Also note that the original recipe was called maple sesame chicken because it was topped with toasted sesame seeds.  I just didn't feel like adding them so I didn't.  Feel free if you love them.

Ingredients

• 1 lb chicken thighs
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped pepper (I have a mix of red, yellow, and orange diced in the freezer.)
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup tamari (or soy sauce)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 can mayacoba beans rinsed and drained
• 2 Tablespoons arrowroot powder (original used flour and water.  I was lazy and mixed in arrowroot as I think it dissolves a bit easier.  You could also use corn starch and water.)

Directions

1. Place chicken in a 3-4 quart slow cooker.  Sprinkle onions and peppers on top.  In a small bowl, combine honey, maple syrup, soy sauce, salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder.  Pour over chicken.
2. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.  (I added the beans in about the last 1 hour of cooking and partially shredded the chicken when I added them.)
3. Shred or chop the chicken and return to the crock pot (if you took it out.  I just shred mine with 2 forks in the crock pot.)  Add arrowroot powder.  (or other thickening agent)  I just pushed a measuring cup down on top of the chicken to get some juice in it, whisked the arrowroot into the  juice until smooth and returned it to the crock pot.  (With flour or cornstarch, I'd probably use water, whisk it together and add it to the pot.)
4. Cover and let thicken.  Serve over rice.

Ravioli with tangy butter

I am the queen of bad bloggers right now for many reasons but we have had a few meals that were delicious lately and I really wanted to post them.  This ranks right up there for super simple, and Sooo yummy.  I don't know if the kids loved it as much as I did, but I thought it was absolutely wonderful.  All 4 boys ate all of it, so I guess it wasn't too bad, and Duncan even had the 2 left over raviolis (yes only 2 - and DH was out of town) for breakfast the next morning. 
I had worried with the name tangy in the title and with 2 Tablespoons of vinegar that it would be a bit too tangy for the kids - especially when I added the vinegar and it boiled and smelled strong.  However, it was definitely NOT too vinegary.
Sadly, there is no picture of this one.  With my lack of blogging has come a lack of picture taking.  :(


Ingredients

• 18-20 ounces ravioli (I used closer to 21 oz of cheese ravioli - tortellini would also work fine.)
• 6 Tablespoons butter
• 2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/3 cup walnuts, chopped (more or less - I used less because only 2 people wanted walnuts)
• Parmesan cheese, grated for topping

Directions

1. Cook ravioli according to package directions
2. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, cook the butter over medium heat stirring occasionally until it begins to turn golden brown (about 3 minutes.)  Turn off the heat.  Let cool for about a minute.  Stir in balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.  Stir in raviolis (or pour over raviolis.)  Stir to combine.  
3. Serve and top each serving with walnuts and Parmesan cheese.  

Taco seasoning

Well, I seem to have a working computer again, so I figured I may as well take advantage and blog.  Yesterday for dinner I ran out of my taco seasoning mix.  I LOVE my taco seasoning mix.  I found it in a book by a lady from 3dhealth.net.  While the book has some great ideas, it is so unorganized that I hate trying to find things in it.  For example, this recipe is called chili mix even though I always think of it as taco seasoning.  It also calls for a veggie mix that you then have to try to find in the book.  I really hate using the book, but I love the recipe.  It pretty much has everything you need including a few veggies.  I also like the flavor and so do all of my kids except 1 who doesn't seem to like ground beef in general.   Be warned, these probably aren't items you will have in your pantry unless you are into food storage.  You will probably have to buy them at some sort of specialty place on online.  My particular favorite is honeyvillegrain.com.  I like them mostly because they are the most economical because their shipping is always 4.49.  I can't say that I got any of the items I used yesterday from Honeyville though.  I just find them easiest to use.  If you care to know, my celery and peppers were Thrive products, my tomato powder was Auguston farms - although purchased through 3dhealth.net and not my favorite quality wise - I do not recommend it.  Could have been old from the person who sold it to me though.  My onions were from the lds home storage center, and the other items from costco.  
On to the mix -here it is with everything all together.  Yea!

Ingredients

• 1 cup tomato powder
• 1/2 cup dried onions
• 1/2 cup dried celery (mine were freeze dried)
• 1/2 cup dried bell peppers (I have a red and green mix)
• 1 Tablespoon garlic minces or garlic powder (I used powder yesterday.)
• 1/2 cup chili powder (this makes a pretty mild mix - you may want to add more if you like it spicier)
• 3 Tablespoons cumin
• 3 Tablespoons coriander
• 1 Tablespoon salt

Mix all of the ingredients together and store in an airtight container.

To use:
Tacos - 1/2 cup seasoning with some water to 1 lb meat (or 1 cup lentils or beans to make vegetarian)
Chili beans - 1/2 cup seasoning to 1 cup (dry measure) beans
rice - 1/4 cup mix to cooked rice with 1/2 cup water
refried beans -1/4 cup mix to 3 cups mashed pinto beans

You get the picture - honestly I usually only make this as taco seasoning, but I have used it with beans, ground beef, and chicken.  Personally for refried beans I prefer mashing salsa up with black or pinto beans.

Fish and chips

Don't be fooled by the title.  This isn't the fish and chips you are thinking of.  This is chips like potatoes chopped and baked that crisp up almost like a potato chip, with fish, just plain, no breading, on top.  Super simple meal and super yummy!
This idea came from Mark Bittman's book the minimalist cooks at home.  So far I'm liking this book.  It is set up so be simple.  Not a ton of ingredients, just simple meals with lots of flavor.  For every recipe he gives a story behind it, the recipe, keys to succes, and with minimal effort ideas (extras to add for more/different flavor, or to add veggies....)  Definitely a book I will continue to investigate while I have it checked out of the library.
This really was super simple.  Aside from peeling and slicing the potatoes, there wasn't an overabundance of work.    I did add one of his with minimal effort suggestions to add garlic (although I was already thinking about doing that when I read it.)    This was a perfect recipe for me.  I had fish in the freezer that I wanted to use, and potatoes in the pantry that I needed to use.
As far as amounts on this recipe - I can't really say too well.  I actually made 2 pans - an 8 X 8 and a 9 X 13 baking side by side.  I had no problem doing this.  I used more potatoes and fish in the 9 X 13 pan and a little less in the 8 X 8 pan.  I'll list the original amounts which say they make 4 servings.

Ingredients

• 4-5 medium potatoes, 2 lbs or more.  (I used 7 or 8?  kind of lost count.)
• 6 Tablespoons butter (I used 8 1/2 or 9) -melted -or use olive oil if you are anti-butter.  
• salt and pepper
• 1 1/2 lbs white fish about 1 inch thick, skinned - in 2 or more pieces.  (original called for cod.  I used mahi mahi.  4 fillets on one pan (about 2-2.25 lbs) and 2 fillets in the other (about 1 lb)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.  (I put the butter in the pan and put my pans in the oven to melt the butter I used 4 Tablespoons in the 9X13 and 2 1/2 in the 8X8 -see next note) Peel the potatoes and cut into slices about 1/8 inch thick.  (I cut mine on a mandoline and think they were a bit thinner than 1/8 inch.  
2. Toss the potatoes with 4 Tablespoons of the butter (or just toss in the pan if you already melted the butter in the pan. I'm not sure I'd melt the butter in the pan again.   I loved how the butter browned, but it would be easier to toss the melted butter with the potatoes with my hands which I may opt to do next time.)  Season potatoes liberally with salt and pepper and spread them evenly.  Place pan in the oven.
3. Cook for 40 minutes checking occasionally, until potatoes are tender and have begun to brown. Remove from oven. (This didn't take 40 minutes for me - maybe because my potatoes were thin.  I set my first timer for 15 minutes (they were already in the 3-5 minutes so max 20 min.) when I checked them, they were already tender and starting to brown.  I stirred them because some were stuck together and not as browned and cooked them for a few more minutes (while I got my fish together and melted some butter - maybe 5-10 minutes.)  
4. Turn the oven to broil and make sure to have a top rack 4-6 inches from the heat.  Top the potatoes with fish, drizzle with the remaining butter (I used the last of the first stick I had, and a bit more.)  Season with more salt and pepper.  Broil until fish is done, 6-10 minutes - depending on thickness.  Mine took 10 to have all pieces done.  Keep an eye on it while it broils.  I saw a potato starting to burn because it was kind of sticking up, so I knocked it over to flat with a spatula and it solved that problem.

 

no bake oatmeal peanut butter bites

I found these little beauties on pinterest.  They come from a website that is new to me howsweeteats.com
I changed them around a bit - grinding my flax and chia to better hide it from the kiddos.  They can sometimes get persnickety about seeds being in their food.  I also didn't bother rolling mine in crushed nuts like she did.  It was just one more step that didn't seem necessary - and of course the first time I made them I was trying to get them done quickly before it was time to pick up my first grader from school.  They worked fine without the nuts on the outside and were such a hit that we made a second batch the next day.  Yea!  A healthy snack everyone likes that is easy to make.  What more can a mom want?

Ingredients

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 2 Tablespoons flaxseed
• 2 Tablespoons chia seed
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds, chopped - or if you are hurrying like me, crushed in you hand to make smaller pieces.
• pinch cinnamon
• pinch salt
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons (6 Tablespoons) creamy peanut butter, melted
• 1/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon (5 Tablespoons) honey
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 Tablespoons mini chocolate chips

Directions

1. Melt peanut butter and allow to cool slightly.  (I store my peanut butter in the fridge because it is natural peanut butter, so I microwaved it for 30 seconds and stirred.  Then I think I did 30 seconds more - I didn't get it totally soupy, just melted enough to be pourable.)
2. Grind the flaxseed and chia seed in a coffee grinder (or spice grinder/food processor/blender.)
3. Combine oats, almonds, flax and chia seed, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl.  Stir.
4. Stir the honey and vanilla into the peanut butter, then pour that mixture into the oats mixture.  Stir to combine, adding the chocolate chips.  
5. Roll into desired size balls and place on a silpat on a baking sheet.  I stored mine in the fridge although they had a good enough consistency to be left on the counter.  I just wanted them cooler after coming in from biking back from school.  To tell the truth, I would have stuck them in the freezer like other cookie dough balls I've made, but my 3 year old didn't want them frozen, so take your pick.

Mexican pizzas

Here was another idea from the Cheap. Fast. Good cookbook.  I mixed their idea with the taco pizza that I like to make and kind of made taco pizza with a tortilla shell.  They did have a couple of new ideas for toppings in the book.  I combined their ideas with ours and this is what we ended up with.  I loved that they were quick and easy.  One son didn't want to toast his in the oven, so he just used the beans as burrito topping which is also perfectly acceptable and makes this meal quite adaptable.  I love that even though it was beans, my 3 year old bean hater ate it and asked for more because the beans were "squished."  3/4 boys loved this and had seconds.  Even had to make another can of bean topping.
Warning, now gushing about my favorite tortillas.  I LOVE these tortillas.  If I can ever figure out how to make some like this I would be sooo excited.  They are corn tortillas with all the flavor of corn, but in the ingredients there is some vital wheat gluten which makes them pliable like a regular tortilla.  They also come in a taco size - not the tiny regular corn tortilla size.  However, they are like $3 for a package of only 6.  I splurge for them occasionally because they are so tasty.  They are made by La Tortilla factory and called hand made style Corn Tortillas.  I have to buy them at Randalls.  It is the only place I know that carries them.  Try them if you love corn tortillas.    OK, done gushing.  Back to the recipe.
 We did these really low key.  I let the kids pick a type of tortilla, I put the bean base on it, then cheese, and they picked at least 2 of the 4 veggie toppings available.

Ingredients

• 1 15 oz can black beans (pinto would also work fine)
• 1 cup salsa (today I used our favorite costco salsa Jack's.  Love it's hint of lime)
• tortillas -used desired type.  I used flour and corn
• shredded cheese - I used sharp cheddar, but Monterrey Jack, or Mexican blend, or Colby jack would all be good.
• toppings - I used corn, canned chopped green chiles, chopped sweet peppers (red and yellow), and olives today.  You could also include onions, jalapenos, tomato, avocado, and even meat if desired.  
• Salsa or sour cream for serving (optional if desired -one son added sour cream -no one added salsa today.)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450.
2. Mash black beans with a potato masher or fork.  Mix with salsa.
3. Place as many tortillas as will fit on a large baking sheet.  Top with bean mixture, cheese and whatever toppings you desire.
4. Bake for about 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and beans are heated. (Honestly we didn't time them at all.  I just went about making a second batch asking the next group what they wanted on them and checked periodically to see if the first batch was done.)

  Like I mentioned, I did end up opening a second can of beans and making a second batch of beans.  Another option is to just use refried beans if you want to be quicker, but I prefer making my own bean spread because it is super easy, and tasty.