Valentine's Dinner for Hunnybun - Chicken Chalupas

This is a casserole my mother made often for my family and also happens to be one of hunnybun's favorites so I made it this evening for him for Valentine's Day/Weekend. I'm also in the midst of making homemade oreo cookies. But first:

1-2 chicken breast, cubed and cooked
1 chopped onion, sauteed
2 cans Cream of Chicken soup
1/2 to 1 pint sour cream
2 cups cheese
1 can olives
1 can green chiles (optional)
Seasonings - Curry powder, Mrs. Dash, Lemon Pepper, Chile Powder
6-7 flour tortilla shells

Saute onions. Cook chicken cubes. Combine all ingredients in a bowl to make a lovely mix of flavors. Spread a dollop or two of the mixture onto the bottom of your 9x13 pan so the tortillas don't stick (or you can use Pam, w/e you prefer). Spread two spoonfuls into each tortilla shell, roll up, and place into the prepared pan. Be sure to save enough of the mixture to spread on top to keep shells from drying out and burning. Sprinkle some extra cheese on top, too. Mmmm, cheesey goodness! Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to one hour until nice and bubbly. Devour! You can add some salsa and/or more sour cream on top/side if you'd like.

Chicken Divine Alternative Rock #1

Please forgive me for neglecting my duties. I'm just not a very good blogger. I can still have an E for effort, right? I introduce to you another tasty family casserole. I've had to adapt Hunnybun's family favorite Chicken Divine as we have recently discovered that Goober is allergic to eggs (nasty hives) and therefore must avoid them for two years, per pediatrician's advice, before she can try them again. Let's hope she can grow out of the allergy otherwise she'll miss out on a lot of tasty things in life such as cookies, cake, brownies, scrambled eggs, etc. That also means avoiding some salad dressings like Mayonnaise. Oh dear, mayonnaise is in daddy's Chicken Divine! Well, have no fear, we'll just oust from the recipe! I also experimented with a few other changes. We were also out of broccoli, the usually main and really only veggie in the dish. Have no fear, we'll just use some other veggies like oh, a can of corn and a can of green beans! (I got the idea to use green beans from my good friend and upstairs neighbor!)

2 cups cooked rice
1-2 chicken boobies, cut up and cooked (sorry, old habit from my Aunt Jane)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2 large dollops of sour cream (hehe, I love the word 'dollop'!)
A splash or two of milk
Handful or two of cheese
1 can corn
1 can green beans
Curry powder (daddy would be heartbroken if forgotten)
Mrs. dash (addicting stuff)
Lemon pepper (also addictive)
Any other seasonings you see fit to use
More cheese

Layer the cooked rice into a 9x13 pan. Mix together soup, sour cream, milk, cheese, veggies, seasonings, and chicken in a bowl and spread over rice. Sprinkle a little more cheese on top (mustn't forget or else I'll be heartbroken). Warm in oven at 350 degrees until bubbly and cheese is gooey. Now devour the divine stuff!

P.S. I'm thinking about testing out a cake that substitutes bananas for eggs. I'll let you know how that goes. Course, I also promised you a chocolate chip cookie recipe. I must be punished. Guess that means I need to make them again soon.

Good 'ol Sunday Pot Roast in the Crock Pot

Time for a pot roast post. Say that ten times fast, I triple dog dare ya! I'm posting this on a Saturday so that, if you happen to be reading this now, you have time to make it tomorrow.

Ingredients:
Onion
Potatoes
Carrots
Celery
2 Garlic Cloves
Pork Loin
Seasonings (Mrs. Dash, Lemon Pepper, Garlic Salt, S&P)
1/2 to 1 cup Water


I didn't list how much of each ingredient to use because it really depends on the size of crowd/family you'll be feeding. Since it generally is just me, hunnybun, and the goobs, I chose a small pork loin out of the freezer, 5 potatoes, and a handful of leftover carrots and celery from the relish container that needed using up. It also depends on the size of your crock pot.

Defrost the pork loin in the microwave, if needed, while you prep/cut up the vegetables.


Layer about half of the potatoes, carrots, celery, and onion on the bottom of the pot. Add a little seasoning.


Place the pork loin on top and surround it with the rest of the vegetables. Add the water. Season with your choice of seasons. Put the lid on and turn the crock pot on to high for four hours or low for eight hours. (I generally choose high depending on the time of day.)


Cut into the middle to check for doneness (is that even a word?). If you like gravy, take some (or all) of the drippings left in the pot and mix with a packet of gravy (yup, I cheat sometimes, but that's okay).

Now, who wants to come over for dinner and do my dishes? :P


P.S. Did I miss anything? Let me know in the comments.

Mom's Cheesy Potatoes

Alright, I'm back! Especially since I know I have at least one reader! (Comment to let me know if I have more.) Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! December is just such a crazy month with anniversaries, birthdays galore, and multiple family Christmas celebrations. And I survived it all this past year, whew! So please forgive me for slacking. I'm not giving up. I'm sure I've got plenty of recipes and sewing stuff to go to the moon and back, maybe even to Pluto!

So to appease you and buy back your attention and love, I shall share with you my favorite food - Cheesy Potatoes! I could eat these almost everyday (but definitely shouldn't). Take head to always make a 9x13 pan or more; never less or you'll regret it forever. They can be a side dish or main dish.

Mom's Cheesy Potatoes

1 can cream of chicken soup
1 pint sour cream
2-3 cups shredded cheese
green onions, sliced finely (optional, for color)
1 bag frozen hashbrowns (shredded or cubed)
Leftover ham, cubed (optional)

Mix it all together in a large bowl and spread into a 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour until it's all bubbly and you can't control your drooling any longer.

Leave me a comment if you have any requests for certain recipes and I'll see what I can do!

Extending Hamburger/Tuna/Chicken Helpers

How to extend the feeding capacity of 1 box of Helper:
#1 Add two extra cups of your favorite noodles (i.e. bowties, wheels, spirals)
#2 Add a dash more of milk than it calls for (like a little less than a 1/4 cup)
#3 Add vegetables! (Last night, I put actual broccoli in what was supposed to be a creamy broccoli tuna helper but only had minuscule flecks of green. You're killing me, smalls!)

And voila! You can feed more than just two adults on one box of Helper!

P.S. If my blog and I suddenly disappear...it's because the company that makes Hamburger Helper doesn't want me to share my money-saving discovery with you!

Leftover Turkey Fajitas

Sorry for the blogging hiatus. I came down with a nasty tummy ache and wasn't up to eating, let alone cooking for a good long while. But now I'm back! So...

Wondering what to do with that leftover turkey that's still coming out of your ears? Or did you get some leftover turkey from your parents who had too much coming out of their ears? One of my favorite things around this time are turkey fajitas! And that's what we had for dinner tonight. It was quick, easy, and very tasty! (Note: chicken can be used as well.)

Ingredients:
Onion
Green pepper
Cooked turkey cut into strips or cubes
Put a little spice in your life (I used Mrs. Dash, chili powder, cumin, curry powder)

Soft tortilla shells

Toppings:
Sour cream
Salsa
Cheese
Tomato
Lettuce
Whatever else you like

Saute the onion and green pepper. Add the turkey. Season with preferred spices. Serve meat sizzling and fix up your fajita however you like it and scarf it up!

(Sorry, I'm really bad at taking pictures but it's pretty easy and looks so yummy that you'd just want to lick your computer screen anyway, and that's not a good idea so I'm saving you the hassle.)

Coming soon...the infamously delicious Mackay family recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies...as soon as chocolate chips go on sale at the grocery store...I'm all out and dying here!

Classic Tater Tot Casserole

Here's a classic and quick casserole:

Ingredients:
Tater tots
1/2 onion
Ground beef
2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup
1/2 can of milk
Spices
Cheese

Put 1 package of tater tots into a 9x13 dish to bake at 450 degrees for a bout 15 minutes or while sauteing onions and cooking some ground beef on the stove top.

Mix two cans of cream of mushroom soup in a large bowl with 1/2 a can of milk. Add cooked meat and onions and season with your favorite spices (I used some Mrs. Dash, chili powder, garlic salt, and curry powder).

The tater tots should be nice and crispy by now to add into the bowl and mix up. Put back into the 9x13 pan and top with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees until bubbly and cheese is melted.

Serve with a side of veggies and you have a complete dinner!