Ingredients:
3 Tblsp. red wine vinegar
6 Tblsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 Tblsp. chopped fresh oregano
1 Tblsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
12 oz. chicken breast strips (fully cooked, fajita chicken strips)
10 oz. (6 c.) romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces
1/2 English cucumber, quartered lengthwise and sliced
1 c. grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise
1/4 small red onion, sliced lengthwise
1/4 c. pitted kalamata olives, halved lengthwise
1/2 c. crumbled feta cheese
Pour vinegar into mixing bowl and whisk in olive oil until incorporated and it thickens. Whisk in oregano, garlic, salt and pepper.
Heat chicken in microwave according to package directions. Immediately transfer hot chicken to the bowl of dressing and toss to coat in the vinegar mixture. Remove coated chicken to a plate.
Add lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, onion, and feta to the bowl of dressing and toss to coat. Remove the salad to a platter or plates. Arrange the sliced chicken over the top. Serve with olives, croutons, and/or lemon slices.
This recipe came from the Panera website originally, but I altered it by using the precooked fajita chicken. You can use 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts and grill them yourself if you'd like, but my way makes a quick summer meal. The original recipe also called for adding the olives to the salad mixture but since I'm the only one in our family that likes them, I decided to just serve them on the side. We were surprised at how filling this salad is, and it was a delicious as it sounded.
Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, diced
2 c. cheddar cheese, shredded
2 frozen pie crusts, deep dish
1 pkg. taco seasoning mix
1 16oz. can refried beans
1/3 c. taco sauce
24 tortilla chips, crushed
lettuce
tomato
sour cream
Preheat oven to 400. Pre-heat cookie sheet to 400 also. Thaw pie crusts 10 minutes. Prick bottom and sides of crusts with fork. Bake crusts on cookie sheet for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and reduce to 350. Brown ground beef and onion, drain fat. Add taco seasoning mix according to package directions. In small bowl, combine beans and taco sauce. Layer 1/2 of bean mixture in bottom of each crust. Top with 1/4 of meat, 1/4 of cheese and 1/2 the crushed tortilla chips. Using the remaining 1/4 of the meat and 1/4 of the cheese, repeat layers of the meat and cheese. Bake on cookie sheet for 20-25 minutes. Slice into pie wedges and serve with taco toppings like lettuce, diced tomatoes and sour cream.
I love the flavor of the crust with all of the taco ingredients. For our family, after I assemble the pies, I usually bake just one pie for dinner and freeze the other. Then we can have a good, home-cooked meal anytime.
Ingredients:
2 bags frozen mashed potatoes
10 slices of bacon
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 c. butter, melted
1 c. sour cream
2 1/2 c. cheddar cheese, shredded
salt & pepper
Cook potatoes according to package directions and set aside. Fry bacon till crispy, allow to cool and crumble/break into small pieces. Using a fork, mash the potatoes until light and fluffy. Add the cream cheese, butter and sour cream and stir till well mixed and smooth. Add 2 cups of the cheddar cheese, half of the bacon pieces, salt and pepper to taste. Stir until well mixed. Put potato mixture into large casserole dish and top with the remaining cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 until slightly golden brown, about 30 minutes. Garnish with remaining bacon and serve.
I discovered this dish on Pinterest. It had all the ingredients I love - mashed potatoes, bacon and cheddar. The original recipe had you making the mashed potatoes from scratch. I cheated and used the frozen kind that you cook in their bag in the microwave. This takes all the hard work out of it as far as I'm concerned. The combination is delicious - I like it better than my old potluck recipe for hash brown cheesy potatoes. I'm making this to go with our ham this weekend for our family Easter dinner. I hope everyone likes it as much as we did.
Ingredients:
1 loaf of bakery bread, stale
2 Tblsp. olive oil
1 Tblsp. vegetable oil
2 tsp. garlic salt
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. black pepper
Cut stale bread into cubes, about 3/4" big. Leave uncovered to dry out further overnight. Preheat oven to 350. In large bowl, place the bread cubes. Combine the two oils and drizzle over the bread. Mix thoroughly. Combine spices in small bowl. Add the spices to the bread in the bowl. Cover the bowl and shake well to mix and make sure the spices cover the bread cubes evenly. Spread the seasoned bread cubes in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes, making sure not to overbake. Allow to cool and store in air-tight container for salads and soups.
I had a couple ciabatta rolls leftover from sandwiches and they got pretty stale. I hated to see them go to waste, so I searched for a crouton recipe online. After substituting my own spices for what their recipe called for, we loved the result. A couple of notes: you have to watch them when they are baking - you don't want to get them too brown; also, you can easily over-season them. Try your own spice combinations for different types of meals, just don't overdo the salt. They are great to snack on, they smell great when they are baking and they are fabulous warm out of the oven!
Ingredients:
2 loaves frozen bread dough
1 lb. ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 lb. spaghetti
1 lb. mozzarella, cubed
1 egg
parmesan cheese
parsley
garlic powder
Thaw bread dough according to package directions. Brown ground beef and onion, add sauce and set aside. Boil pasta according to package directions and drain. Combine pasta and sauce mixture. Place each thawed bread dough loaf onto a separate cookie sheet and spread and press them out making them into large rectangles. Sprinkle garlic powder or garlic salt on the dough for some extra garlic flavor. Place pasta and sauce along center of dough, dividing half onto each loaf. Place 1/2 of the mozzarella cubes on top of each. Using a sharp knife, make cuts in the dough about 1" apart, coming within 1/2" of the filling down the center. Fold the bottom and top edges over and pinch to seal. Braid the dough cuts over top of the spaghetti and cheese, left over right until all dough is folded over top. Beat egg and brush loaves with it. Sprinkle with parmesan, parlsey and garlic powder. Preheat oven to 350 and bake for 30-35 minutes. Slice and serve.
I found this recipe on Pinterest. It originally came from the website for the company that makes the frozen bread dough but of course I altered it and made it my own. Their recipe just makes one loaf so the first time I made this, we ate every bit of it and wished for more. One might be enough if you served a salad with it or some italian green beans. We just go for 2 loaves now and have some leftovers too. Make sure you pick a spaghetti sauce that you like and would serve normally as regular spaghetti. We like one with a fresh basil flavor. You could make these loaves up the night before and store in the fridge until dinnertime. I think they would make a great dish for company too since you can make them up in advance and just put them in the oven when you're ready to eat. The mozzarella chunks melt and the cheese oozes out through the braid. I made this tonight and it is baking in the oven right now and smells delicious.
Ingredients:
6 c. zucchini, cut into large chunks6 c. yellow squash, cut into large chunks
2 Tblsp. olive oil
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. lemon pepper
1/2 tsp. black pepper
Preheat oven to 450. Grease roasting pan with a bit of olive oil. Chop zucchini and squash and put into large bowl. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil over squash and mix until well coated. Sprinkle with garlic salt, lemon pepper and pepper. Mix with spoon until evenly coated. Pour squash into roasting pan and spread out evenly. Bake 20 minutes, stir, and bake an additional 15 minutes.
This is a recipe that I found online and tweaked the spices and cooking times - and it came out fantastic. I don't know how the recipe comes out the way I found it, I never made it that way. The recipe above is my own version and I wanted to remember how I made it so I can recreate it.
Usually when I cook squash and zucchini, I grill it or cook it in the skillet and it turns mushy and loses the flavor. I had some zucchini still left from my garden this year and we bought some yellow squash at the farmer's market to go with the zucchini. Cooking it according to the recipe above, the consistency and color were fresh and delicious, so flavorful. I cooked it in my stoneware 9x13, so I didn't need to grease the pan with olive oil. The skins of the squash and zucchini were really thick and I was worried it would be tough but they cooked perfectly. I won't bother grilling or pan frying it ever again.
Ingredients:
16 oz. rigatoni
3-4 cucumbers, thinly sliced
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 Tblsp. vegetable oil
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 c. water
3/4 c. white vinegar
1 Tblsp. mustard
1 Tblsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and rinse in cold water. In large bowl, combine oil, cucumbers and onion. Combine all remaining ingredients. Pour over salad and toss. Cover and chill 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally. Serve with slotted spoon.
I don't know where I found this recipe, but I'm glad I did. It's always a hit at potlucks and cookouts. I peel the cucumbers before slicing, but you can leave the peel on for an extra crunch and a bit of green in the salad. When I know I'm making this salad, I try to make it the night before so the cucumbers and rigatoni have time to soak up all the great taste. It's one of those that's possibly better the next day as leftovers. I've caught my husband sneaking into the fridge with a fork just to have a bite or two at night.
