Easy Stove-Top Stuffing Quiche

This is so easy and is a meal unto itself! I'm not big on measuring, but I'll do my best to be accurate with the ingredient quantities...

cooked chicken, cut-up (however much you want to put in)
6 eggs, beaten
2 c. milk
1 cup cooked or canned spinach
1 box chicken flavored stove-top stuffing mix
approx. 1 c. grated cheddar cheese (or cheese of your choice)

Mix eggs, milk, spinach, and cheese together. Add in chicken and stuffing mix. Stir until well blended, then pour into lightly greased baking dish (I used a 9x9, I think).

Bake at 350 for approx. 45 minutes. Check it regularly. It should be a little moist in the center when you take it out of the oven, otherwise it ends up too dry. This tastes great and is super for the kids! It's got spinach in it and they have no clue! Make extra and freeze some, and these make great grab-n-go meals in the car when you're on the run with the kids. Or serve with a nice side salad for sit-down dinner. My 1 year old loves this!

Substitutions and additions: this is great because you can add just about any veggie or meat and it tastes fabulous. Use bacon or sausage and make it for breakfast, or substitute broccoli or mushrooms for spinach.

Chicken a la Chardon (Breaded Chicken with Mushrooms and Butter Sauce)

This chicken dish is DELICIOUS. It was popular in my last ward - served for Enrichment, etc. It isn't too hard to make, but is a nice dinner for guests if needed. May seem time consuming to first try, but not bad at all once you've done it. Plus I keep the canned/dried versions of ingredients on hand and can grab them out of the cupboard if I need a last minute dinner. The chicken turns out really tender and lots of people I've served this to have loved it. Could be made without mushrooms as well. *recipe courtesy my friend Linda

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 egg
Salt and pepper
2 tsp garlic powder, (divided into 1 tsp + 1/2 tsp + 1/2 tsp)
1 c. Italian seasoned bread crumbs
½ c. parmesan cheese

½ lb (2 cubes) butter (can use half the butter and still turns out great)
1 tsp. finely chopped parsley (or dried parsley flakes)
Juice of ½ lemon (or 4 ½ t. lemon juice)
½ lb mushrooms, sliced (or 1 jar of sliced mushrooms)

In a bowl, beat egg, add salt and pepper to taste and 1 t. garlic powder.

In a second bowl, combine breadcrumbs, ½ t. garlic powder and parmesan cheese.

Dip each piece of chicken in egg mixture and roll in crumbs. Arrange in single layer in 9x13 dish. (Can be done ahead to this point and refrigerated).

Melt butter and stir in remaining ½ t. garlic powder, parsley, and lemon juice. Pour ½ of butter sauce over chicken.

Bake 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes. (Or 350 for 40-45 min.)

Remove from oven, sprinkle with mushrooms and pour remaining butter sauce over top.
Return to oven and bake 5-10 minutes longer. Garnish with parsley if desired.

Serve with rice, (I make white rice in our rice maker with 1 cube chicken bullion for every 1 cup of rice/2 cups water).

SIDES: Mom's Scalloped Corn and/or Salad, Rolls

Pumpkin Bread or Muffins

1 1/2 cup sugar ( I have also substituted cooking splenda for 1/2 of it)
1 1/2 & 1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 pumpkin
1/2 cup oil (I usually use applesauce)
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp soda
1/3 cup water
2 eggs

Cook muffins at 350 for about 25-30 minutes
and bread for about 40-50 minutes

* For added variety I've mixed in craisins, and or a ripe banana.
** I usually sprinkle the top with "sugar in the raw" for a sweet addition

Chicken and Cashews

1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 small onion, cut into wedges
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 cup salted cashew halves
Hot cooked rice


In a bowl, combine the sugar, cornstarch, water and soy sauce until smooth; set aside. In a skillet, saute onion in oil until crisp-tender. Add chicken and cook until no longer pink. Stir in soy sauce mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in cashews. Serve over rice.

Sweet n' Sour Chicken

Sauce:

3/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup soy sauce
2/3 cup water
1/3 cup cider vinegar

Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil. I usually wait until the sauce is a desired thickness. Brown both sides of chicken breasts and salt & pepper. Lace in oven safe dish. Pour sauce over chicken and cook for 30-35 mintues at 350. It's so good and the ingredients are usually ones you have in the cuboard. Add pineapples chuncks if you'd like. Serve over rice with veggies.

Litehouse Spinach Salad

1 bag spinach

1/2 jar Litehouse Spinach Salad dressing - *delicious! has bacon bits

1/2 lb sliced mushrooms

2 tomatoes

1/4 lb bacon cooked and crumbled (OPTIONAL - I never add this b/c it already has bacon bits)

Delicious! I love this dressing. A little bit sweet. I'll combine it with spinach only for a quick salad.

Spring Stir-Fry in Peanut Sauce

1/2 cup Catalina Dressing
2 Tbsp. peanut butter
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper (I'll probably leave this out)
1 Tbsp. oil, divided
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
4 cups mixed cut-up fresh vegetables (broccoli florets and red bell pepper strips)
8 oz. fettuccine, cooked and drained, reserving 2 Tbsp. of the pasta cooking water
2 green onions, sliced (I'll probably leave this out)

MIX dressing, peanut butter, soy sauce and crushed red pepper; set aside. Heat 2 tsp. of the oil in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook and stir 5 to 8 min. or until chicken is cooked through. Transfer chicken to large serving bowl; cover to keep warm.
HEAT remaining 1 tsp. oil in same skillet. Add broccoli and bell peppers; cook and stir 5 min. or until vegetables are crisp-tender.
ADD pasta, vegetables and dressing mixture to chicken; mix lightly. If desired, gradually stir in enough of the reserved pasta cooking water until sauce is of desired consistency. Sprinkle with the onions.

*courtesy Kraft.com

*I'm trying this out this week so I'll remove this if it's not good

Our menu for this week

* I'm going to try to branch out this week and try all new recipes - they seem easy enough for me, so may as well give it a go! Thanks for the recipe ideas.

Monday:
Mexican Chicken Chowder
Cornbread/Tortilla Chips

Tuesday:
Leftovers from Sun/Mon

Wednesday (Halloween):
take out Pizza


Thursday:
Chile Lime Tacos

Saturday:
Spring Stir Fry in Peanut Sauce
Rice
spinach salad

Sunday:
Vegetable Stuffing Bake
rolls

Monster Cake

1 pkg. (2-layer size) yellow cake mix

1 pkg. (4-serving size) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened

1 tsp. vanilla

6 drops green food coloring

1 pkg. (16 oz.) powdered sugar, sifted (4 to 4-1/2 cups)

1 tube (0.75 oz.) black decorating gel

8 OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, finely crushed

3 JET-PUFFED Miniature Marshmallows, cut in half

PREPARE cake batter as directed on package. Add dry pudding mix; mix well. Spoon evenly into 24 paper-lined medium muffin cups. Bake as directed on package for cupcakes. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.

BEAT cream cheese, butter, vanilla and food coloring in medium bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Gradually add sugar, beating well after each addition.

ARRANGE cupcakes on large serving platter or tray to resemble a monster's head as shown in diagram. Spread with frosting. Use decorating gel to outline the eyes, mouth, scars and hairline on the cupcakes. Fill in the hair with cookie crumbs. Place 2 of the marshmallow halves in centers of eyes; place remaining 4 marshmallow halves in the mouth for teeth. Store in refrigerator.

-

I haven't made this but I thought it might be something fun for Halloween if you were in the mood.

Enjoy!

Yum in the Tum Chili

2 Cans Dark Red Kidney Beans
2 Cans Chili with Beans
2 Cans Diced Tomatoes
1 Can Tomato Sauce
1 lb Hamburger Meat
1/2 an onion
6-7 bacon strips
1 Pkg Taco Seasoning

Cook bacon in frying pan then remove from pan once fully cooked. Then brown hamburger meat and onions in the pan. In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients and cook on medium for about 30 minutes. You'll have one tasty dinner and plenty of leftovers!!

Ways to enjoy your chili: Top it with cheese or stuff some in a tortilla. It's so easy to make and quite tasty, if I do say so myself!

Tuna Rolls

*One of my favorite meals (my mom’s recipe). This recipe uses mostly ingredients that you probably already have in your kitchen. Easy and yummy!

Bread:
2 c. flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 c. shortening
3/4 c. milk

Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in large bowl. Cut shortening into flour mixture. Stir in milk until dough sticks together. Knead 10 times and roll out into rectangle shape.

Filling:
1 can tuna
1 egg
1 tsp. mustard
diced green pepper
chopped onion
grated cheese

Mix all ingredients together and spread onto rolled-out dough. Roll dough and filling together like a jelly roll. Slice into 12 pieces. Place on sheet and bake at 400◦ for 10-12 minutes.

Sauce:
4 Tbsp. margarine
4 Tbsp. flour
2 c. milk
1/2 tsp. salt
cooked mixed vegetables

Melt margarine in saucepan. Stir in flour. Gradually stir in milk with wire whisk. Add salt. Stir until thick over medium heat. Remove from heat and add cooked vegetables. Serve sauce over tuna rolls.

Curried Coconut Chicken

Serve over white or jasmine rice.

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in 1-inch pieces
1 t. salt and pepper, to taste
1-1/2 T. vegetable oil
2 T. curry powder
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 (14 oz) can coconut milk
1 (14.5 oz) can stewed tomatoes, diced
8 oz. tomato sauce
3 T. sugar

1. Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper.

2. Heat oil and curry powder in a large, non-stick skillet over med-high heat for 2 minutes. Stir in onions and garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add chicken, tossing to coat with curry oil. Reduce heat to medium and cook 7-10 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

3. Pour coconut milk, tomatoes, tomato sauce and sugar into the pan and stir to combine. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30-40 minutes.

Tortellini Soup

This makes a large, healthy and hearty serving of delicious soup that tastes excellent the second day. You can add different or additional vegetables and it will still turn out great.

1 lb mild italian sausage
1 c. chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 cups beef broth
1/2 c. water
8 oz. tortellini pasta
1 c. sliced carrots
2 c. stewed tomatoes
1/2 t. dried basil
1/2 t. dried oregano
8 oz. tomato sauce
1-1/2 c. zucchini
2 green bell peppers, seeded and cubed
1 c. frozen spinach
3 T. fresh parsley

1. Remove casings from sausage and saute in large pot until crumbly. Remove sausage from pot. Add garlic and onion to pot and saute until tender.

2. Add broth, water, carrots, tomatoes, basil, oregano, tomato sauce and cooked sausage. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes uncovered.

3. Add peppers, spinach, parsley and tortellini. Simmer another 25 minutes, covered. Serve with fresh parmesan cheese on top.

BLT Salad

3/4 Cup Mayonnaise
4 (1 inch thick) slices Italian Bread
12 thick-cut Bacon, chopped
3-4 Cups Cherry or Grape Tomatoes, halved
3 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
1 (10 oz. bag) chopped Romaine Lettuce, or 1+ head Romain Lettuce chopped
Salt and Pepper

Directions:

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 475 degrees.
Spread 1/4 cup mayonnaise over both sides of sliced bread and transfer to baking sheet.
Bake until golden brown, 8-10 minutes.
Let cool 5 minutes then cut into 1-inch croutons.

Cook bacon in large skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes.
Transfer to paper towel-lined plate.
Discard drippings.

Whisk remaining mayonnaise and red wine vinegar in large bowl.
Add bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, and croutons and toss to combine.
Season with salt and pepper.
Serve.

Turkey bacon can be substituted for regular bacon. And you may not want all the dressing, it's a lot.

This recipe is courtesy of my good friend Katie J.

Requesting "This Week's Menu" Posts

If any of you sit down at the beginning of the week and make a plan for meals for the week, (and I know some of you do), I'd love it if you would post your list. You don't have to post all the recipes for the meals, but I'd love to see what you're making and get ideas. I haven't ever been good at doing this, so I'd like to try to do better and would love to see how you do it.

This Week's Menu

My mother-in-law said she used to plan out 4-5 meals for the week in advance. Here's a sample week menu based on ideas she gave me.

Sunday:
ROAST W/ POTATOES & CARROTS

Monday:
SPAGHETTI
Garlic Bread or Sourdough Toast
Caesar Salad

Tuesday:
CHICKEN BROCCOLI CASSEROLE
Fruit Salad

Wednesday:
CHILI
Cornbread

Thursday:
CHICKEN ENCHILADAS
Corn
Fruit

Vegetable & Stuffing Bake

1/2 cup mayonnaise
2/3 cup milk
1 pkg (16 oz) frozen broccoli florets, thawed
1 pkg (6 oz) stuffing mix for chicken
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

PREHEAT oven to 350. Mix mayo and milk in large bowl until well blended. Add remaining ingredients; mix lightly.

SPOON into 11X7 inch baking dish.

BAKE 20 to 25 minutes or until heated through.

Serves 6

Perfect Fall Recipe: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

Credit for this SCRUMPTIOUS recipe goes to my friend Tami. These are SOOOO good. Stick a loaf in the freezer and eat it cold later and it's awesome!



3 c sugar
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin
1 c oil (you can use less or subst. applesauce but Ithink it makes it dry)
2/3 c. water
4 eggs
3 1/2 c. flour
1 T cinnamon
1 T nutmeg
1 t cloves
2 t baking soda
1 1/2 t salt
1 c semisweet choco chips (or more)

Mix wet ingredients together, add in dry, pour into 3 greased loaf pans and bake 50 - 60 min at 350

Easy Rotisserie Dinner Idea

1 Rotiserrie Chicken ($5 at Costco)
1 Loaf of French Bread
1 Bagged Salad

*courtesy my sister-in-law Jillyn

Chocolate Pudding Pie

(Picture and recipe courtesy of Kraft Foods. )

1-1/2 c. cold milk

1 pkg. JELL-O Chocolate flavor instant pudding mix

1 Oreo pie crust

2 c. thawed Cool Whip topping

Pour milk into large bowl. Add dry pudding mix. Beat with wire whisk 2 minutes or until well blended. Spoon half of the pudding mix into the Oreo pie crust.

Gently stir in one cup of the whipped topping into the remaining pudding; spoon over pudding layer in crust.

Top with one cup of whipped topping. Refrigerate before serving.

(I like to use whipping cream from the carton rather than Cool Whip.)

Chicken Lime Soft Tacos

1 T. olive oil
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/8 c. red wine vinegar
1 lime, juiced
1 t. white sugar
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. ground black pepper
2 green onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 t. dried oregano

Flour tortillas
Shredded lettuce
Shredded cheese
1 tomato, diced
Salsa

1. Pour olive oil in bottom of crock pot. Place chicken breasts in bottom of pot. Combine vinegar, 1/2 lime, sugar, salt, pepper, green onions, garlic and oregano in a small mixing bowl; pour over chicken then add the rest of the lime juice on top. Cook on low 3-4 hours until chicken is cooked thoroughly, shred the chicken and mix up with the remaining juices.

2. Heat the tortillas in a frying pan or in the microwave. Place cheese on heated tortilla, then top with chicken, lettuce, tomato and salsa. Serve taco style.

Saucy Orange Chicken

6 chicken thighs (or 3-4 breasts) cut up
1 tb oil

Cook chicken in skillet. Mix sauce seperately:

1 1/2 c. OJ
4 TB brown sugar
4 tsp corn starch
1/2 tsp salt
dash pepper
dash nutmeg

Add sauce to chicken in skillet and boit to thicken. Serve over rice.

Chicken & Rice Casserole

1 10-12oz. can chicken breast
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup finely chopped celery
1/4 cup fresh chopped onion
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 cup mayonnaise
3 hard boiled eggs
3-4 cups cooked rice
1/2 cup crushed potato chips

Mix all but potato chips together in mixing bowl, transfer to a 8"x8" or 9"x13" casserole dish and cover with potato chips. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Mmmm, mmmm good!

What Can My SLOW COOKER do for me??

The following slow cooker recipes are courtesy my sister-in-law Jillyn and her friend Jen.

Chili (Slow Cooker)

1 lb. ground beef
1 onion
2 cloves fresh garlic or garlic salt
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 cans tomato sauce
2 cans chili beans w/ sauce
1 TB chili powder

Brown ground beef. Drain off fat, add onion & garlic. Add all canned items and ground beef mixture into slow cooker. Cook on High 4-5 hours.

Chicken Fajitas (slow cooker)

4-5 chicken breasts (can be frozen)
2 cups of salsa
1/2 packet taco seasoning (optional)

Cook on high for 6 hours. Shred with a fork. Wrap in tortilla with cheese, sour cream, lettuce or whatever toppings you like. (I used some of this extra meat to put in some chicken enchiladas later in the week)

Italian Chicken (Slow Cooker)

3-4 chicken breasts (can be frozen)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 pkg italian seasoning packet (Good Seasons brand is recommended)
1 stick butter (optional)
1 block cream cheese (optional)

Put all (except cream cheese) in crockpot on low for 8-10 hours. 15-30 min before serving add 1 block cream cheese and stir (optional). Serve over rice or egg noodles.

Beef Stroganoff (Slow Cooker)

1 1/2 lbs stew meat, cut up
1 chopped onion
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
2 TBS ketchup
2 tsp worchestershire sauce
1 tsp pepper
1 pint sour cream

Combine all but sour cream in slow cooker. Cook low 8-10 hours. Mix in sour cream and cook 10 min. more. Serve over egg noodles or rice.

Chicken Catalina (slow cooker)

4-5 chicken breasts
1 bottle Cataliina dressing
1 onion sliced (or dried minced onion maybe?)
1 can stewed tomatoes (14 oz)
1 tsp celery seed (? optional ?)

Combine in crockpot. Cook on low 8-10 hours.

Mexican Chicken Chowder (Slow Cooker)

10-12 frozen chicken tenders or 3 cans of chicken
1 can (11 oz) mexicorn, drained
1 can cream of potato soup
1 can (4 oz) diced chili peppers
2 TB snipped cilantro (optional)
3 cups chicken broth
1 envelope taco seasoning

8 oz. sour cream
4 oz. cubed velveeta (can use 1 cup cheddar)

Combine ingredients on the first list and cook in slow cooker low 8-10 hours (or 4-6 hours if you're using canned chicken). Before serving, stir 1 cup hot soup from slow cooker into sour cream until smooth. Add that sour cream mixture and the cheese into crock pot and cover. Let stand 5 minutes. Serve w/ tortilla chips.

Chicken Tortilla Soup (Slow Cooker)

(tip: keep all these cans on hand and you can throw this together anytime - can also be put in a pot on the stove and warmed)

1 family size can chicken and rice soup
1 can Ro-tel Tomatoes
1 can Texas Style Beans + 1 can water
1 can chicken shredded (optional)
1 can corn (optional)
1 cup grated cheddar cheese (optional)
sour cream
tortillas or tortilla chips

Combine all ingredients and slow cook low 8-10 hours. Serve w/ sour cream, extra cheese, and tortilla chips. (Good without sour cream and cheese if you don't have them on hand)

This'll Be Great

I just have to thank Jenna for setting up and designing this post. She and I were JUST talking about doing this this morning and she had it all whipped up by this afternoon. Great work, Jenna!

I think this will be a very useful place for us to post our favorite tasty, quick, easy, inexpensive meal ideas and recipes. We're all trying to figure out what to make for dinner every week, so we may as well combine our efforts and experience and help each other out. Also, any meal planning tips and ideas would be a great contribution as well.