Chicken & Eggs Skillet Dinner

We've been eating out so much lately! Whew... it's good to eat at home...

Tonight, I started too late to make the Black Bean Casserole I'd had on the menu. So I started defrosting some cubed chicken in hopes that inspiration would hit in five minutes or less.

Well, it did and it turned out pretty tasty. I threw in some veggies that we had lying around plus a can of Mexican tomatoes. But the wrench in all this is that I forgot to get any pasta or rice going to serve with this concoction. So what did we use? Scrambled eggs! I figured it would turn out like one of those fancy skillets at the Olive Branch... and it really did!

cubed chicken
sliced onions
garlic pepper & salt
rosemary (thanks for the tip, Erica!)

Cook these up until chicken is browned. Then I added:

sliced sweet peppers
snow peas

Saute these a bit, then add 1 can Mexican style diced tomatoes and a splash of lemon juice. Simmer until the liquid has reduced.

In a separate pan, scramble some eggs. I used 3 whole eggs, 2 egg whites, and a little milk. Add cooked eggs to the chicken and veggies.

I'd imagine this would be awesome with some mozzarella cheese sprinkled on top. Then again, isn't everything awesome with cheese?

Tricia's Angel Hair Pasta & Zucchini

Tonight we tried out Tricia's Angel Hair pasta and zucchini recipe.

Of course, I had to modify it - Heaven forbid I ever follow a recipe to a T. ;o)

* I used spaghetti noodles instead of angel hair because that's what we had.

* Couldn't find any fresh Parmesan at the store, so I substituted with a couple Tbsp. of grated parm. and a big handful of shredded mozzarella. I had to add extra liquid and did so with milk.

* Added: sauteed mushrooms and onions, parsley, sliced sweet peppers, garlic salt and pepper.

I was tempted to make this with shrimp or crab meat after I got started, but my husband is decidedly anti-seafood (esp. shellfish). I think it would be really good with it though.

Thanks for the recipe, Tricia! It was so nice to have something different for a change. And it tasted wonderful!

Ham, Egg & Cheese Sandwich

For breakfast on Sunday, when Mike and Kate were here, I prepared these sandwiches that I've been making for myself for month. They're fast, easy and filling. What more could you want in a breakfast? Almost all the ingredients are in the title!

1 split bagel or English muffin
1 egg
4 thin slices ham (I used pre-packaged sliced ham)
1 slice of cheese (Velveeta works great)
Catalina dressing*

Heat medium skillet (or larger if you're cooking for more than one) to medium-high heat. Drop the egg in and sprinkle with pepper (and salt if you like). Break the yolk with your spatula. Cook the ham slices (stacked on top of one another) next to the egg. Cook for a few minutes and flip. Cook to desired doneness.

Toast the bagel or English muffin. While it's toasting, place the cheese on top of the egg in the pan and put the ham on top of that. This will get your cheese melting.

Drizzle a little Catalina dressing on each half of the bagel. *Now, Catalina is one of the newest staples in our house. But I'd imagine that you can use whatever kind of dressing you like - I bet Ranch would be good; I have also tried Creamy French.

Assemble your sandwich and viola! Breakfast in a hurry!

Angel Hair Pasta ala Weight Family

Here's one I just received from Tricia, one of our Fooblog fans... Sounds fabulous! :o)

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TRICIA SAID: Try it-you might like it! Made it off the cuff (and the FAMILY went wild), so you'll have to figure out how much this-and-that to use!

1 Package Angel Hair Pasta
2 Med. Zucchini
2 Med. Tomatoes
Sandwich Ham cut into strips (use as much as YOU like)
1 Container Ricotta Cheese
1 Container Parmesan Cheese

Cook Angel Hair Pasta according to package.
Grate zucchini with the fat holes of a vegetable grater.
Add zucchini to Spaghetti for the last three minutes of boiling.

Before you empty pasta/zucchini into strainer, scoop out 1/2 cup of the spaghetti water. (You need this to thicken the cheese).

Put Ricotta and Parmesan in pan, add just enough left over spaghetti water to make a creamy sauce. (You should not need to use the entire 1/2 cup).

Add Pasta and zucchini. Stir. Salt and pepper to taste.

Dice tomatoes. Add tomatoes and Ham to mixtures and heat through. Top with Parmesan and Serve.

Hope you like it! Tricia PS. Love the FOO-Keep it up!

Beth's Taco Salad

Mom and I are totally full from all our snacking today, so I'm just making dinner for Heath tonight. I've got this great recipe from my friend Beth who used to live in Colorado. She made this dish for me before small group one night.

1 lb. ground beef
1 can kidney beans
2/3 c. Catalina dressing
1/4 c. water
1-1/3 Tbsp. chili powder

Brown the meat and onions. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer 15 minutes, stirring. Some yummy additions to put in before simmering: chopped bell peppers, corn.

Combine with 4 c. shredded lettuce (or salad mix - whatever you have), 1/2 c. scallions (optional - I've never added these), and a generous 2 c. shredded cheddar cheese. You can also top with tomatoes, avacados, or whatever you'd like.

Toss and add more cheese on top. Serve with tortilla chips or Fritos. (I recommend Fritos!)

Trailhead Cookies

In order to get ready for the coming couple weeks, I did some prep-cooking yesterday. I like to make batches of cookie dough and put them in the freezer for later use - cookies anytime! Also, I needed to get some bread dough made for buns and pizza that are on the menu next week.

Here's a fun peanut butter cookie recipe that I modified in order to use up some Trail Mix we had. I'd imagine it would be great for taking with you on hikes as well because it has a lot of protein in it. The original recipe is from my old Betty Crocker cookbook.

1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 c. shortening
1/2 c. peanut butter (either crunchy or smooth - whatever you have)
1 egg
4 Tbsp. milk

Mix all these ingredients until smooth. Then add:

1-1/4 c. all-purpose white or wheat flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

Mix again until thoroughly combined.

Next, take 1 to 2 cups of any kind of trail mix you have and drop it in a food processor. Add enough chocolate chips and/or yogurt chips to make it worth your time eating these cookies. (You know how much you like. ;o) Process on high until coarsely chopped. Add to your dough. Mix again until combined.

Scoop out balls of dough and flatten just slightly. If you're going to freeze these balls, be sure you do flatten them or they won't spread when you bake them later.

Oven info: 375 degrees for 10 minutes on a sprayed cookie sheet.

Remember, when it comes to cookies, take them out before they "look" done. When they look done in the oven, it's too late - they're gonna burn!