Week 20 - Amy & Ben's turkey meat surprise

This is one of our favorite dishes to make so I decided to share the recipe this week. *Note this can also be made with chicken or ground beef as well**
**Here is a pic of my little lady getting ready to go to school!

Ingredients:

• Package of ground turkey
• Cooked rice
• Shredded cheddar cheese or cheese of choice
• Can of diced tomatoes
• Can of corn or other veggies of choice
• Salsa

1. Cook ground turkey meat until cooked through. While cooking the meat, prepare the rice as well.

2. Once meat is cooked through add in tomatoes with the juice, corn and/or other veggies of choice. 

3. Add in enough salsa to coat the meat/veggie combination

4. Serve over rice and top with cheese

Ben was nice enough to cook so I only have the picture of the finished product. We love making this dish and had plenty of leftovers which I am having for lunch as we speak. You can also serve in tortillas, or as a sandwich as well. There are lots of different ways to make this dish depending on what you like. 

ENJOY!!

Stay tuned for the Super Bowl addition which will include:

• • Pigs in a Blanket
  • BBQ Chicken Dip
  • Mac and Cheese
  • and Rice Balls

Week 19 - Chicken Ranch Burgers

I wanted to change it up a bit and make more than just a plain old Chicken Burger. I did a search on Pinterest and this recipe for Chicken Ranch Burgers caught my eye - http://www.tastesoflizzyt.com/2013/06/24/chicken-ranch-burgers/

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground chicken
• 3/4 cup bread crumbs
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 Tbsp barbecue sauce
• 4 Tbsp ranch dressing

In a bowl, mix together all of the ingredients until completely combined

Form into 4 patties

We decided to use the broiler to cook the burgers and started on high and when the outsides looked done we changed the temperature to low to finish cooking the inside

We topped our burgers with swiss cheese and BBQ sauce. They were delicious and even good reheated the 2nd day!

Stay tuned for 1 more week and then Super Bowl Sunday. Looking forward to trying some new recipes!!

Sunday Funday with Friends

This weekend I made a few repeat recipes that were Ben's favorites while entertaining friends.

Important to note is that Ellie has been changing daily and it has been so fun to see what new things she is going to say and what she will do each day! When we ask her to smile for us, she sometimes makes this silly smile face as you can see below. We just love her to pieces!!!

Here is a  repost of two of our favorite recipes with a few adjustments to them.

Honey BBQ Chicken wings - http://sundayfundayfood.blogspot.com/search?q=wings

These have been our favorite wings over the last few years and easy because they are mostly done in the crockpot. I used similar amounts of the honey, soy sauce, and bbq sauce combination and added a little bit more once the wings were in the crockpot so that the wings were covered in the sauce. I had some time, so I cooked the wings on low for about 4 hours. The meat fell apart and was very tasty!

Taco Pizza - Ben's favorite dish - http://sundayfundayfood.blogspot.com/search?q=taco+pizza

This has been a favorite of Ben's so I decided to make it today. I actually cooked the meat first and then put it in the fridge until I was ready to cook the pizza. When I was ready to cook, I added the meat and cheese to the pizza dough and cooked for 15 minutes. Once browned, I added the tomatoes and lettuce to the top of the pizza. Our guests loved it!

I don't have any new recipes this week, but will be sure to post some new ones soon!!

Until next time!!!

Week 17 - Fried Ravioli

I've been wanting to try this recipe for awhile now. I had fried ravioli in St. Louis many, many years ago and remember it being delicious. This recipe is easy and delicious as well - http://allrecipes.com/recipe/st-louis-toasted-ravioli/

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons whole milk
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup bread crumbs
• 2 packages frozen ravioli, thawed
• vegetable oil
• 1 jar spaghetti sauce

1. Combine milk and egg in a small bowl. Place breadcrumbs and if desired, salt in a shallow bowl. Dip ravioli in milk mixture, and coat with breadcrumbs.
   
2. In a large saucepan, heat marinara sauce over medium heat until bubbling. Reduce the heat to simmer.
3. In a large heavy pan, pour oil to depth of 2 inches. Heat oil over medium; Fry ravioli, a few at a time, 1 minute on each side or until golden. Drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with Parmesan or mozzarella cheese and serve with hot marinara sauce. 

***Since I could only fry 6-7 ravioli at a time, I heated all ravioli in the pan at the end to warm them up***

I served the ravioli with salad and garlic bread. It had a different consistency with the bread crumbs but it was really good! This would also be good as an appetizer with smaller ravioli. I may make it again for Super Bowl!

Until next week......Stay warm!

Week 16 - More holiday recipes; Baked ziti and Egg Biscuit Casserole

Happy New Year! I've been very busy entertaining and cooking so I wanted to share a few more popular recipes from the holidays.

I've actually never made Baked Ziti. Ben requested this for Christmas Eve, so I made my very first Baked Ziti. It was easy and delicious!! I found the recipe on pinterest from this site - http://elephantintheroomblog.com/?s=ziti&submit=Search

Ingredients:

• 16 oz ziti, cooked not-quite al dente
• 1 tub part skim ricotta cheese
• 1.5 lbs shredded, part skim mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
• 1 whole egg
• 5-6 cups of sauce (I used this recipe)

Preheat oven to 375. Bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil and cook pasta until not quite al dente (it should still feel a little tough when you bite into it). Drain under cool running water and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, plop in the ricotta cheese and mix in the egg. Add 1 lb. of shredded mozzarella and the parmesan cheese. Mix until just combined.

 Add in the pasta and mix until coated.

Pour in the sauce, reserving about a cup, and stir until combined.

Spoon the mixture into a large casserole dish. Top with the rest of the sauce and mozzarella cheese.

 Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until bubbling. I served with garlic bread and salad and it was a great meal and we had LOTS of leftovers too!

For Christmas morning we decided to start a new tradition. I found a recipe on pinterest for Egg Biscuit Casserole - http://midwesternmoms.com/2013/08/recipe-egg-biscuit-casserole/

Ingredients:

• 5 eggs
• ¼ cup of milk
• 16 oz ready made biscuits (found in the refrigerator section)
• 1 container of grape tomatoes
• 1 cup shredded mild cheddar cheese or mozzarella cheese
• 4-5 strips of bacon (or whatever type of meat you would like to add)

1. Beat your eggs and milk together in a large bowl
   
2. Cut your biscuits into four pieces each, then add the biscuits to the egg and milk mixture. Let this soak while you work on everything else.
   
3. Cook your bacon, pat your bacon dry to take away the extra grease when it is done.
4. Crumble your bacon and cut the tomatoes.
5. Add your cheese, bacon, and tomato mixture to the egg, biscuit, and milk. Stir really well.
   
6. Spray a 9×13 pan with non-stick spray and add the mixture to the pan.
   
7. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 25-30 minutes.
   

Serve with ketchup and enjoy!!!

Wishing everyone a Happy 2014!!!