Cheesy Chive Chicken

(Another of the 10 Tastefully Simple Freezer Meals)

My FAVORITE recipe using our Cheesy Chive!  Such a good flavor and extremely simple.  The original recipe calls for cubed chicken, but I don't bother cutting it up.  After simmering in the slow cooker all day, it's easily shred-able and I prefer that texture anyway.  I also go ahead and make the entire 12 oz. bag of egg noodles to ensure I have plenty for leftovers for lunch the next day!

1 pkt Tastefully Simple Cheesy Chive Warm Dip Mix
8 oz cream cheese (you can also substitute 1 can cream of chicken here!)
1/2 cup chicken broth (I've used water before when I didn't have broth on hand)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
6 small chicken breasts ( I generally use 3 large ones, because that's what they sell around here)
1/2 cup sour cream
8-12 oz egg noodles

Place chicken in slow cooker.  Mix Cheesy Chive with cream cheese (or cream of chicken) and broth (or water) and pour over chicken.  Cook in slow cooker on low for about 5-6 hours.  Shred chicken if desired.  Add sour cream last 15 minutes.  Serve over prepared egg noodles.

Italian Beef

(One of the 10 Freezer Meals from Tastefully Simple - see tsrecipes.com)

Wonderful roast!  I've always made my roasts in the oven before, but am hooked on this slow cooker recipe.  I used pop as my liquid and made up some baked potatoes for a side dish.  Note:  If you make this ahead as as one of the freezer meals - you'll need to let it thaw in the fridge 1 1/2-2 days due to the size of the roast.

Italian Beef

3 lb beef roast
4 Tbsp Tastefully Simple Italian Garlic Bread Seasoning
1 Tbsp Tastefully Simple Onion Onion
1 tsp Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
12-24 oz beer or cola

Rub seasonings into roast and place in slow cooker.  Pour liquid over top.  Original recipe calls for 2 cans beer or pop.  I only used 1 can cola and that was plenty of liquid..  Cook in slow cooker on high for 4 hours, then turn down to low and cook another 4 hours.  Shred beef and serve on Italian rolls.

Sassy Baked Chicken

Made a set of 10 freezer meals published by Tastefully Simple last weekend, so I'll be posting these over the next couple weeks with my reviews.  To get a the meal listing/instructions, go to www.tsrecipes.com and click on the Jan. 13th, 2011 post then the link for 10 freezer meals.  Got a thumbs up from the entire crew on this one - I think next time I will cut the chicken into strips!

1 Tbsp Tastefully Simple Onion Onion
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp Italian Garlic Bread Seasoning
2-3 cups instant potato flakes (recipe calls for 3, but I thought 2 was plenty)
6 chicken breasts (I used 3 large ones and pounded them flat, then cut into serving size portions)
3/4 cup Tastefully Simple Vidalia Onion Dressing

Place Vidalia Onion Dressing in one bowl, and mix dry ingredients in another.  Dip the chicken into the dressing, then the dry/potato flakes mixture.  Place on foil lined dish or baking stone and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.

Bayou Bourbon Meatloaf

Tastefully Simple's Bayou Bourbon Glaze is a staple in our household.  It's fabulous on almost any kind of meat.  However, one of our personal favorites is meatloaf.  I know....meatloaf?  Not the most 'gourmet' meal on the planet, but it's quick, easy and they ask for seconds!

If you like ground beef, simply mix 2 lbs. with 1/2 cup of Bayou Bourbon Glaze, place in loaf pan...add 1/4 cup more glaze on top and back at 375 for an hour.

However, if you don't mind adding a little sweetness to your sauce, this version is our family favorite!

Bayou Bourbon & Bacon Meatloaf
1 lb. ground pork
1/3 cup oatmeal
...1/3 cup milk
2 Tbsp bacon bacon
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp pepper

Mix and form into loaf (or loaves) as many as you like.

Glaze 3/4 cup Bayou Bourbon Glaze
1/2 cup orange marmalade

Bake at 375 until internal temp reads 145-150. (I made one large loaf and mine took about 45 minutes to fully bake.)

Cabbage and Potato Frittata with Bacon

New recipe for me - was very pleased with the blend of flavors!  A little chopping in the prep work, but otherwise and easy meal.  (Inspired from Every Day w/ Rachel Ray Magazine)

Ingredients
10 eggs
1/4 tsp Tastefully Simple Garlic Pepper
1/4 tsp Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
2 potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 carrots, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/4 head green cabbage, cored and thinly sliced
1/2 onion, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
sour cream for serving

Preheat oven to 375.  Chop veggies. In large, ovenproof nonstick skillet, cook the bacon over medium high heat until crisp (5-7 min); drain on paper towels and crumble the bacon.  Reserve 3 Tbsp bacon fat in the pan.  Add potatoes and carrots to pan and cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes until softened.  Stir in cabbage and onion, season with salt and pepper and cook until browned (about 5 min).  In large bowl, beat eggs - then add to skillet mixture.  Cook until the edges begin to set, but the center is runny about 3 min.  Transfer to the oven and bake until the eggs are set in the center and the edges are golden brown (about 10 min).  Cut into wedges.  Serve topped with the crumbled bacon and a dollop of sour cream.

Sloppy Joes & Sweet Southern Corn Bread

This sloppy joe recipe came from a friend of mine (thanks Tammy!) and the corn bread recipe I pulled off tastefullysimple.com.  Both appeal to my love of sweet flavors!

Sloppy Joes
1 lb. ground beef
ketchup (about a cup??)
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup water
dash ground mustard


Brown beef.  (I use lower fat beef, so it doesn't require draining.  If you use a higher fat content beef, drain before next step.)  Add enough ketchup to saturate meat.  Mix in other ingredients and heat through.


Sweet Southern Corn Bread
1 box (8 oz.) corn bread (I use Jiffy)
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup Tastefully Simple Sweet Pepper Jalapeno Jam

Grease muffin tin.  Mix all ingredients and fill tin's 1/2 full.  Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or lightly brown.  Makes 1 dozen muffins.

(Those of you coming to our Tastefully Simple Team Meeting tonight will get to sample the corn bread muffins :)



 

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Decided a meal on the healthier side was necessary today after finishing off the sticky buns from last night!  Here is a recipe originally from the Today Show - with a few modifications.  The only grocery store in town I was able to find Plum Sauce was Hy-Vee.  Hy-Vee also now stocks ground chicken.  Previously I purchased it at Fareway...you have to ask for it, because they only ground it occasionally and keep it in the back freezer.

My youngest doesn't quite know what to think about using lettuce as the wrap, so he just eats the meat/veggie mixture alone.  I like the crisp texture of the lettuce though.

NOTE:  If you have a food processor or hand chopper, break it out for this recipe and save yourself some work!


Nutrition Information
Calories – 298
Protein – 27 g
Total Fat – 9 g
Saturated Fat – 2 g
Cholesterol – 80 mg
Sodium – 610 mg
Carbohydrate – 34 g
Fiber – 5 g

Ingredients

• 4 medium carrots, peeled and finely diced
• 2 stalks celery, finely diced
• 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
• 1 (8-ounce) can water chestnuts, drained and finely diced
• 3 scallions (white and green parts), thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons grated or finely minced fresh ginger
• 4 cloves garlic, minced (I use 4 tsp Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic)
• 1 pound ground chicken (at least 90% lean)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/3 cup bottle Chinese plum sauce
• 3-4 Tbsp Tastefully Simple Shanghai Stirfry Sauce
• 1 teaspoon hot chili paste, such as sriracha (I omit because I have a wimpy mouth)
• 1/4 cup unsalted roasted cashews, chopped
• 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro, plus extra for garnish (optional)
• 1 head Boston or Bibb lettuce (I use iceberg)

Preparation

Liberally coat a large skillet with oil spray, and preheat it over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, celery, bell pepper, water chestnuts, scallions, ginger, and garlic. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften slightly, about 5 minutes, adding a tablespoon of water at a time as necessary to prevent scorching.
Reapply oil spray if necessary, and add the ground chicken to the skillet. Cook until the chicken is no longer pink, breaking the meat into a fine crumble with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Season with the salt and pepper. Add the plum sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, and chili paste and stir to coat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until heated through.  Remove the skillet from the heat, and stir in the cashews and cilantro. Allow the mixture to cool slightly, about 5 minutes.

Clean the lettuce and break off 12 individual leaves. Fill each lettuce cup with roughly ½ cup of the chicken mixture. Garnish with additional cilantro if desired.

Easy Sticky Buns

I'll be lucky to burn off all the calories from these during my workout class tomorrow, but they were SOOO worth it!  I've never made homemade cinnamon rolls or sticky buns before, but these looked just too tempting not to try.  I even got 2 of the 3 kids to help me.  All helped eat them of course.  Definitely keeping this recipe around - may be a new holiday breakfast treat.  Got it from Taste of Home Magazine.

Ingredients

• 2 loaves (16 ounces each) frozen bread dough, thawed
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 
  MOLASSES SAUCE:
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, cubed
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup molasses

Directions

• Roll out each loaf of bread dough into a 10-in. square. Spread with butter to within 1/2 in. of edges. Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over butter. Roll up jelly-roll style; pinch seams to seal. Cut each loaf into six slices.
• For sauce, in a small saucepan, bring the brown sugar, butter, water and molasses to a boil. Pour into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Place rolls, cut side down, in molasses sauce.

• Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in dish for 5 minutes; invert onto a serving platter. Serve warm. Yield: 1 dozen.

NOTE:  I flipped these over onto a cookie sheet lined w/ wax paper.  

Savory Pot Roast

I grew up with Sunday meals of roast and potatoes, so why not start out the new year with tradition.  I was inspired by this recipe I found on a food website - meaning the picture they showed caught my eye!  With a few modifications of my own, it was officially rated as a 'thumbs up' by all in the family.  (We operate on a thumbs up, down or sideways review system here.)

Ingredients

1 boneless beef chuck eye roast (2-1/2 lb.)

3 lb.  Yukon gold potatoes (about 6), quartered

6 carrots (3/4 lb.), peeled, cut into 1-inch lengths

1/3 cup  Tastefully Simple Merlot Sauce

2-3 Tbsp. Tastefully Simple Onion Onion 

1/3 cup  water

Directions

HEAT oven to 350°F.
PLACE meat in shallow foil-lined pan; surround with vegetables.
MIX remaining ingredients until well blended; pour over meat and vegetables. Cover.
BAKE 2 hours or until meat is done (160ºF). Slice meat. Serve with vegetables and pan gravy.

*Note:  I still have a small stash of Tastefully Simple Howlin' Horseradish, so I used this to make up some dip which we used on the potatoes and roast.  If you're lucky enough to still have some of this - use it here!  Otherwise our Onion Onion Dip would be a good substitute.

Welcome to my recipe blog!

I've been kicking around the idea of starting a recipe blog the past couple years, and decided 2011 was the year to get going.  I enjoy cooking, but love eating even more which is why I'm constantly on the lookout for new recipes.  Given my business as a Tastefully Simple consultant, I have the best excuse too!  Part of my job is sharing recipe ideas with my clients. You will see that I have a great affection for our products, so I do incorporate them into many of the recipes I find.

Those of you who know me well are aware of the busy (often times crazy) family calendar we keep.  This requires a bit of planning when it comes to meal times.  It also means using the slow cooker and make-ahead casseroles a great deal!  So...if you're looking for easy-to-prepare meals, you've come to the right spot!  You might occasionally see a 'gourmet meal', but those will be rare treat.  I'm more about providing my family with healthy meals that allow us to sit down at the table together (even if it is for a brief moment before the next activity begins).

I hope you enjoy my upcoming posts for the year ahead!  Feel free to share my blog with your friends and family!  And...of course if you need any Tastefully Simple products - you know who to contact :) .