Cobblestone Pizza Bake and Taco Bake

This has become one of my kids favorites and one that they can make on days where they want to help in the kitchen! This recipe is so versatile. You can play around with what meats you like, what veggies you like and even turn it into a taco pizza (which is my 12 year old sons favorite)! 
Enjoy!!!

Ingredients
1 lb. lean ground beef
1/2 lb. ground Italian sausage
1 jar pizza sauce (14-15 oz)
2 tubes (12 oz. each) buttermilk biscuits
8 oz sliced mushrooms (I use baby bella)
1 bell pepper sliced in strips longways (I use yellow or orange)
2 cups shredded pizza cheese 

Directions
Preheat oven to 400.
Grease 13x9 inch baking dish.
In a large pan, cook both meats until  browned and drain well.
Stir in pizza sauce.
Cut biscuits into fourths and place in the baking dish, slightly pressing down to kinda form a crust. 
Top with meat mixture.
Top with veggies. 

Bake uncovered for 25 minutes.
Sprinkle with cheese.

Bake 5-10 minutes longer until cheese is melted and golden.

Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Variation:

For the taco version which is my sons favorite as you can see below!!

The cooking method is pretty much the same just change up the ingredients!

2 lb. ground turkey (you can use beef I prefer the turkey in taco)
4 Tbs. taco seasoning* recipe below (using the water it calls for)
1/2 cup to 1 cup of queso sauce or salsa depending on your preference


Cook this up and use in place of the meat/sauce mixture above. I usually omit the mushrooms but keep the bell pepper and also use Monterrey jack/ cheddar cheese in place of the pizza cheese. Other than those few changes it is the same! 

Taco seasoning* (you can use 2 packets of taco seasoning if you prefer)

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions:

In a small bowl, mix together chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Store in an airtight container. Yields about 2 3/4 tablespoons.

To use: Use about 2 tablespoons of the taco seasoning for every 1 pound of meat. Use more or less depending on your preference. Brown meat and drain the fat. Add your taco seasoning along with about 1/2 cup of water. Simmer and stir until water is absorbed. If you want more of a sauce throw in about 2 tablespoons of flour with the water.

Thanks!!
XOXO

Sugar & Spice Cookies

This recipe was a bit of an experiment. I knew I wanted cookies but I did not have chocolate chips and I only had 1/4 cup of white sugar so I made up these little yummies!!! I hope you enjoy!!!

Sugar & Spice Cookies

1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup butter melted (yes melted will explain later)
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
2 1/4 all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp cinnamon 


Preheat oven to 375

Okay to explain the butter. I did not have it at room temp so I placed it in the microwave for 45 second just trying to soften it and it ended up melting. You can use softened butter but the cookies will not be soft like this. 
Cream butter, both sugars and vanilla really well. Add in the eggs and beat until combined. 
Place in the freezer for 5 minutes while combining dry ingredients (this makes it easier to work with). 
Combine in a separate bowl flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and mix well. 
Take wet ingredients out of the freezer and beat for 1 minute. 
Stir in dry ingredients, you wanna only stir in about 1/3 of it at a time to make combining easier.
Mix well. 
Drop by teaspoons onto a cookie sheet. 
Bake for 8 minutes until lightly golden. 
Cool and enjoy! 

Buffalo Chicken Dip

This is a great recipe for a football party or if you are just entertaining some friends!! It is super easy and quick! The great part is that you can use leftover chicken that you had in the fridge or you can use a chicken from the deli if you are in a hurry! If not that is okay you can either put a few boneless breasts in the slow cooker or oven until they fall apart and you can shred them. Just make sure they are tender! This is something I like using leftover Yumm Yumm chicken for! (link for Yumm Yumm chicken:http://yumm-yumm-foodie.blogspot.com/2012/08/slow-roasted-rotisserie-chicken.html

Buffalo Chicken Dip


8 oz. cream cheese softened
2-4 oz. blue cheese crumbles
2-3 cups cooked shredded chicken (I like a lot of chicken)
1 bottle of your favorite buffalo wing sauce (just enough to cover the chicken, not to much)
bag of your favorite shredded cheese (I like monterey jack/ cheddar)

preheat oven 350
In a baking dish layer your ingredients starting with the cream cheese making sure you spread it all over the bottom. Then sprinkle the cream cheese crumbles on top of the cream cheese. Place the chicken on top of the crumbles. Pour the wing sauce over the chicken. Cover the top with cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes just melting the cheese and warming the rest. Serve with your favorite raw veggies and tortilla chips! 

Enjoy!!
XOXO

Pork Loin on a bed of root veggies

Here is another favorite that is quick because it is all in one dish and versatile. You can change around the veggies and seasonings if you want. This is the way that we like it!!





















Pork Loin on a bed of Root Veggies

3.5 pound whole pork loin
1 onion cut in half rings
juice from 2 large lemons
1 lemon pealed and diced
5-6 whole carrots cut into large chunks
2 lb red potatoes cut into bite sized pieces
(5-6 large ones)
4 cloves of garlic smashed and diced
2 tsp rosemary divided
3 tsp garlic powder divided
2 tsp sea salt divided
3 tsp pepper divided
3 tsp coconut or olive oil divided


preheat oven to 375 (once meat comes out of the fridge).
take a roasting pan toss together 1 tsp oil, onion, garlic, carrots and deiced lemon and make a "veggie bed" on the bottom of the roasting pan.
Place the pork loin on top of the veggie bed.
Dust  the meat with 1 tsp of rosemary, 2 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp sea salt, and 2 tsp pepper.
Pour half of the lemon juice on top of the meat.
Place the meat back in the fridge for 2-4 hours (the more time it sits the more intense the flavor.
Toss the potatoes in the remaining seasoning and oil.
Surround the meat with the potatoes.
Place in the oven and bake until meat is done and potatoes are tender about 1 hour - 1.5 hours.

Enjoy!!!!
XOXO

Chicken Broccoli Casserole

There are those days where you just want comfort food. That food that warms you up and loves you but you are not in the mood for soup or stew. This is our go to food....casserole!!!! I came up with this recipe after one of the holidays where we had turkey and we had tons of leftovers. Now it is one that we have often. I hope you enjoy!!! 

Chicken Broccoli Casserole 


2.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs (you can use bone in just bake a little longer)
3 cans cream soup (I use a combo of low fat cream of mushroom and cream of chicken but you can use any of them)
3/4 cup light mayo 
2 boxes cornbread stuffing made as directed in microwave
1.5 cups fresh broccoli florets steamed 
1 tube buttery round crackers crushed
2 tbs butter melted
4 tsp curry powder divided
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp creole seasoning (or salt and pepper to taste)
salt and pepper to taste

preheat oven to 300 
Place chicken in roasting dish. 
Dust the chicken with 2 tsp of curry powder, salt and pepper and let sit while oven warms up. Bake for 1.5 hrs. 
Remove from oven and cool. 
If you used bone in then remove from the bone. 
Once cooled cut into bite sized pieces.
Preheat oven to 350.
In a medium sized mixing bowl add the soup, mayo, 2 tsp curry powder, nutmeg and creole seasoning mix well. 
In a large baking dish spray with cooking spray add the cooked stuffing as the bottom layer. 
Layer the steamed broccoli on top of the stuffing.
Add the chicken.
Pour the soup mixture on top of the chicken.
Top with the cracker crumbs and drizzle the butter on top.
Bake uncovered for 45 minutes.
Let sit for 10 minutes then enjoy!!!

Thanks Y'all!!!

XOXO

Slow cooked Island Kielbasa with Coconut Rice

I had come across a few different recipes for kielbasa one of which caught my eye but the ingredients seems a bit off and too sweet for a savory dish calling for 2 lbs kielbasa, 2 cups ketchup, 2 cups brown sugar and 1 15 oz can of pineapple chunks in syrup undrained. I like sweets but that seemed overkill but the idea was there and after reading the reviews and and how my suspicions were correct I decided to try a few things. The fact that the title is Island Kielbasa and it had pineapple screamed it needs a balance such as soy sauce but a number of people said it was so saucy they had to add cornstarch and I didn't want to go that route so I thought of a teriyaki marinade. That with the pineapple and a little brown sugar had an island feel so here is what I came up with. I served it on top of plain jasmine rice however I think next time I will serve it on coconut rice(recipe to follow). Note chicken can be used in place of the sausage to make it a more healthy dish.

Slow cooked Island Kielbasa 


3 lb Kielbasa cut in bite sized pieces
12 oz jar of ginger teriyaki marinade sauce
1/2 to 3/4 cup brown sugar
20 oz can of unsweetened pineapple chunks in pineapple juice undrained
1 cup ketchup

Brown up kielbasa on the stove until brown. Set aside. Combine the rest of the ingredients into a crock pot. Stir in kielbasa. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours. Serve with Jasmine rice or coconut rice*recipe below.


Coconut Rice

2 cups Thai jasmine-scented white rice

2 cups good-quality coconut milk

1 3/4 cups water

2 heaping Tbsp. dry shredded unsweetened coconut 

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. coconut oil, OR vegetable oil

Rub oil over the bottom of a deep-sided pot. You will also need a tight-fitting lid.

Place rice, coconut milk, water, shredded coconut, and salt in the pot and set over medium-high to high heat. Stir occasionally to keep rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot and burning.

Once the coconut-water has begun to gently bubble, stop stirring and reduce heat to low (just above minimum). Cover tightly with a lid and let simmer 15-20 minutes, or until most of the liquid has been absorbed by the rice. To check, pull rice aside with a fork. If most of the coconut milk-water is gone, go on to the next step.

Replace the lid and turn off the heat, but leave the covered pot on the burner to steam another 5-10 minutes, or until you're ready to eat. Tip: Your Coconut Rice will stay warm this way for up to 1 hour or more, great for when you're expecting company!

When ready to serve, remove the lid and fluff rice with a fork or chopsticks. Taste-test the rice for salt, adding a little more if needed.

Enjoy!!
XOXO

Yumm Yumm Chicken and veggie meatloaf

One of our favorite dishes to make since my husband and I started eating healthy is a recipe that I came across from The Deen Brothers titled Deen Bros Lighter Chicken Creole Burgers with Bayou Mayo http://thedeenbros.com/recipes/recipe_detail/347/

My husband asked me a few days ago if there was a way to make this into a healthy meatloaf so I did some research and came across a few meatloaves that were made with ground chicken. Our biggest worry was trying to make this just as moist as the burgers because there is nothing worse than a dry meatloaf. I experimented and it came out so flavorful and moist I had to share! The leftovers are great for a meatloaf sandwich (hubby had one today and it was still moist). This can be topped with a sauce if you want we just wanted to try it without to begin with before we experimented with a sauce. I will update when I try different toppings. Off the top of the head it would be great with a spicy marinara or some Frenches onions. 

Enjoy! 

Yumm Yumm Chicken and Veggie Meatloaf

2 tbs coconut or olive oil

1 large red bell pepper chopped  

1 large onion chopped

8 oz pkg baby bella mushrooms coarsely chopped

4 cloves of garlic minced

2 lb ground chicken

5 slices of whole wheat bread torn

1/2 cup 1% milk

1/4 cup yumm yumm chicken spice *recipe below

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

1 large egg

2 tbs ketchup

2 tbs bbq sauce

2 tsp Dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 350

In a skillet heat oil on med/high heat till hot. Add red pepper and onion and saute till almost tender. Add mushrooms and garlic and saute till heated. Remove from heat and scoop into a bowl to cool slightly.  In a large mixing bowl take bread and top with milk. Set aside for just a minute long enough for the milk to absorb into the bread. Once absorbed add veggies, chicken, yumm yumm chicken spice, bread crumbs, egg, ketchup, bbq sauce and mustard. Mix thoroughly. Place in a casserole dish or 2 loaf pans (I used an oblong casserole dish that is 11x9x2) bake in oven at 350 for about 1 hour or until your thermometer in center reaches 160 degrees. Make sure you let it sit 10-15 minutes before slicing. If you add a topping like the french fried onions do it at the last 10 minutes of baking to allow them to be crisp. 

Yumm Yumm Chicken spice  link address*http://yummiesonabudget.blogspot.com/2012/10/yumm-yumm-chicken-spice.html

4 Tbs. sea salt

8 tsp. paprika

8 tsp. onion powder

3 Tbs. granulated garlic or garlic powder

4 tsp. dried thyme

2 Tbs. creole seasoning

1 Tbs. black pepper

Enjoy!!!
XOXO