Category Archives: Six Ingredients or Less

June 17, 2011 · 10:49 am

Strawberry Butter

I made this with store bought strawberries. We got some strawberry plants this week though, so hopefully I will be able to make this with our own strawberries soon.

Ingredients:
1 pt. strawberries, hulled
3 T powdered sugar
1 cup butter, softened

Instructions: Combine all ingredients in a food processor and mix until smooth.

Pack into an airtight container and refrigerate.

Great on toast, pancakes, french toast, biscuits and waffles.

Did I change anything? I cut the amount of sugar in half. I would also like to try this with blueberries. One other variation I might try is to substitute cream cheese for the butter.

What did the family think? Yum!

Where did this recipe come from? our grocery store strawberry sampling fair

photo from Right at Home

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Filed under After School Snacks, Bread, Breakfast, Definitely Making it Again, Six Ingredients or Less, Vegetarian

June 15, 2011 · 8:13 am

Warm Tortellini and Chicken Pesto Salad

This was SO good, but it had pesto in it, so it’s really not a surprise. Pesto is good with just about anything.

Ingredients:
1 small rotisserie chicken (about 2 cups of chicken)
1 pound tri-color tortellini
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 to 1/2 cup pesto
1 pre-packaged bag of baby spinach (optional)

Instructions:
Cut the chicken off the bone into small chunks and set aside.

In a large pot of salted water boil the tortellini for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large saute pan over medium-low heat. Add chicken and pesto and saute until warm.

When the tortelleni is done, drain and transfer to the saute pan and stir to combine. Turn the heat down to low and divide baby spinach among 6 bowls. Top each pile of spinach with tortellini and serve warm.

Did I change anything? I left out the spinach. I just wasn’t sure how it would go over with pasta even though my kids eat spinach all the times in salads and such.

What did the family think? It was a huge hit! Our oldest even asked if he could have the leftovers in his lunch the next day.

Where did this recipe come from? Cooking with My Kid

photo from Cooking with My Kid

3 Comments

Filed under Chicken, Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Italian, Salad, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make

June 14, 2011 · 4:49 pm

Bada Bing Pork Chops

When I saw the name of these pork chops I had to make them. Who doesn’t want to eat something with the name “bada bing” in it? 🙂

Ingredients:
1 cup Italian-style salad dressing
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup applesauce
1/4 cup hot pepper sauce
1 lime, juiced
6 bone-in pork chops

Instructions:
Mix together the Italian dressing, Worcestershire sauce, applesauce, hot pepper sauce, and lime juice in a bowl. Pour the marinade over the pork chops, and refrigerate in marinade for 6 hours or overnight.

Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat, and lightly oil the grate.

Remove the chops from the marinade, and pour marinade into a saucepan. Bring the marinade to a boil over medium heat, and allow to boil for about 1 minute.

Place the pork chops onto the preheated grill, and grill until well browned and no longer pink in the middle, about 6 minutes per side, basting the chops occasionally with the marinade. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 160 degrees. Allow the marinade baste to cook completely onto the chops.

Did I change anything? No, but I wish I had let them marinade longer. I forgot that I was supposed to be marinating them until late in the afternoon…I probably got three or four hours in.

What did the family think? These were super duper tasty. We don’t eat porkchops that often, so I was impressed that our youngest ate them, especially since we were out of catsup.

Where did this recipe come from? Allrecipes.com

photo from allrecipes.com

1 Comment

Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Make Ahead of Time, Pork, Six Ingredients or Less

June 6, 2011 · 12:17 pm

Quick and Easy Breadsticks

I have mentioned before that I am not a big fan of using yeast…all the waiting and kneading. I know, I know, it’s not really all that bad, but if I can find a recipe that gives me the same result without the yeast, then I am all over it. So when I was looking for recipes to make homemade breadsticks I chose this one as opposed to the gazillion others that are out there that require yeast. I am also not a big fan of breaking out the rolling pin either, but there wasn’t really any way to get around that.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine
1 tablespoon oil
3 cups flour (I use part whole wheat, part unbleached)
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1-1 1/2 cups milk

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Place butter and oil in 9×13 pan and put in oven so butter melts as the oven heats up. Be careful not to let it burn!

Stir dry ingredients together, and gradually add milk, stirring until dough forms and leaves sides of bowl.

Knead 5-6 times in bowl; place on floured countertop and roll out into 9×13-inch rectangle.

Lay dough in pre-heated 9×13-inch pan, atop the melted butter/oil. Cut into 1/2″ strips.

Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes.

Did I change anything? I didn’t use quite as much butter as this recipe calls for. It just seemed like a lot.
I changed the amount of milk in this recipe. I used a little bit more than the original recipe called for. Just add it a little at a time until the dough comes together.

What did the family think? We don’t usually say no to carbs, especially ones that taste really good slathered in butter and honey.

Where did this recipe come from? Tammy’s Recipes

Photo from Tammy’s Recipes

Baked Vermicelli

Since we love pasta around here, I thought I would give this version from Parents magazine’s June issue a try.

Ingredients:
Nonstick cooking spray
1/2 lb. vermicelli or angel hair pasta, broken into thirds
16 oz jar mild chunky salsa
2 cups cooked cubed chicken breasts
1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend, divided
1 T chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly coat a 2-qt. baking dish with cooking spray; set aside.

Cook pasta according to package directions. When done, drain and rinse under cold water.

Mix pasta, salsa, chicken, 3/4 cup cheese and cilantro in baking dish.

Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes.

Uncover, sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake uncovered for 10 minutes.

We had this with some fresh strawberries and blueberries.

Did I change anything? The only thing we ended up doing differently with this is that my oldest thought it might be a good idea to crumble up some tortilla chips and sprinkle them on top. He thought it made the dish ten times better. 🙂

What did the family think? Everyone who normally likes dinner at our house loved it and had seconds. The leftovers were even requested by our oldest to be sent to school in his lunchbox.

Where did this recipe come from? Parents Magazine, June 2011, p. 58

photo from goodapples.com

GORP

I have no idea what GORP stands for, but it surely must stand for something. (I looked it up on Wikipedia, it means good ol’ raisins and peanuts.) Anyways, GORP is also better known as trail mix in some circles. I have been making this lately to pack for snacktime at the boys’ school as well as to put in their lunches. I used to make it for them a lot when they were younger, too, for a snack on the go. There are a zillion combinations you could make but this is what’s in my pantry right now.

Ingredients:
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1 cup Multi-grain Cheerios
1 cup raisins
1 large Zip-loc baggie
Other ingredients you might consider: M&M’s, Chex cereal, Craisins, pretzels, Goldfish, banana chips, popcorn, dried fruit bits

Instructions:
Pour all ingredients in bag and shake to mix.

What did the family think? Yum!

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Filed under After School Snacks, Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make, Vegetarian

May 21, 2011 · 11:00 am

Brown Bag Popcorn

We stopped buying microwavable popcorn quite a while ago because of all of the extra stuff that’s in it that doesn’t really need to be in popcorn. Plus, it’s pretty expensive for what it is. So, I bought a popcorn popper, but quite frankly, it’s a pain in the tush to clean. This recipe from 100 Days of Real Food is the answer to all of our popcorn problems.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup popcorn
2 teaspoons olive oil or vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
Paper lunch bag
Optional: butter, seasoned salt

Instructions:
Put popcorn, oil and salt in lunch bag. Fold lunch bag over so things don’t going flying everywhere and shake to mix.

Place bag on its side in microwave for about 2-3 minutes or until there about 5 seconds in between pops…you don’t want it to burn.

Open bag carefully and pour into serving bowl. Add melted butter, seasoned salt, M & M’s…whatever your family likes in their popcorn.

Did I change anything? The original recipe wanted me to staple the bag shut, but I didn’t have any staples so I just folded it over and it worked just fine.

What did the family think? Perfect…we just needed a little butter on it.

picture from NASA

2 Comments

Filed under After School Snacks, Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make, Vegetarian

May 20, 2011 · 9:21 am

Green Beans Almondine

My mom used to make this quite a bit and I loved it and it was easy enough that she would let me help her in the kitchen and make it. However, I don’t think I have ever made these before as an adult, which really surprises me since I loved having them growing up.

Ingredients:
1 lb. frozen French-style green beans
1 T butter (add more if you’d like)
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1 tsp lemon juice

Instructions:
Cook green beans per the instructions on the package and drain.

Melt butter in a pan and add almonds. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until almonds start to get golden.

Pour almond/butter mixture over green beans. Add lemon juice. Toss to coat.

Did I change anything? My mom always used canned French-style green beans, which would work fine too.

What did the family think? Everyone in our house who eats green beans loved them. I bet you can guess which one of our lovely dinnertime friends doesn’t eat them. 🙂

photo from Serious Eats

Fancy Hot Dogs

How often do we eat hot dogs in our house? Um, never, but we do like a hot dog or two when we are at a ballgame, at Sonic, etc. You can make this with hot dogs or if you want to make a super fancy hot dog dish, you can make it with bockwurst. (Good luck finding it at your local grocers…I would stick with the hot dogs.)

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp butter (more if needed)
6 standard sized hot dogs (plan 1-2 per person, or fewer if you are serving kids), sliced into 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch thick slices
1 cup chopped yellow onion
2/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup of water
Egg noodles

Instructions:
Cook egg noodles according to package directions.

Melt butter in a large skillet (cast iron works well for this purpose) on medium high heat. Add the chopped onions and sliced hot dogs. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions and the hot dogs are nicely browned, 5-10 minutes.

Add the sour cream and water, stir until creamy.

Serve over egg noodles.

Did I change anything? The original recipe called for chopped fresh parsley. I think fresh parsley tastes like grass, so I left it out.

What did the family think? Everyone LOVED it! No complaining whatsoever.

Where did the recipe come from? Simply Recipes

from Simply Recipes

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Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make

May 9, 2011 · 9:45 am

Egg “Muffins”

We are going to be celebrating Mother’s Day next weekend since both grandmas will be in town, so I thought I would give this recipe a trial run before making it for our Mother’s Day brunch.

Ingredients:
10-12 eggs
2 T fat free half and half
1 1/2- 2 cups diced meat: canadian bacon, ham, cooked turkey sausage or cooked veggie sausage
1 1/2- 2 cups grated low fat cheese (I like sharp cheddar or feta)
Optional, but highly recommended, 3 green onions diced small.

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375.

Use regular or silicone muffin pan, 12 muffin size. If using silicone pan, spray with nonstick spray. If using regular muffin pan, put two paper liners into each slot, then spray liner with nonstick spray.

In the bottom of the muffin cups layer diced meat, cheese and green onions. You want the muffin cups to be 3/4 full, with just enough room to pour a little egg around the other ingredients. Beat eggs well with the half and half (you could use milk). Pour egg into each muffin cup until it is full to the brim, nearly overflowing.

Bake 25-30 minutes until muffins have risen above the rim of the muffin cups and are slightly browned and set.

Did I change anything? I made these with bacon and green onions for the adults and just cheese and eggs for the kids. They were very tasty and I found some fun polka-dotted muffin cup liners to use, so they were fun, too.

What did the family think? Everyone liked them. Be careful though, they take a while to cool off.

from Kalyn’s Kitchen

1 Comment

Filed under After School Snacks, Breakfast, Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Six Ingredients or Less

Category Archives: Six Ingredients or Less

Strawberry Butter

Warm Tortellini and Chicken Pesto Salad

Bada Bing Pork Chops

Quick and Easy Breadsticks

Baked Vermicelli

GORP

Brown Bag Popcorn

Green Beans Almondine

Fancy Hot Dogs

Egg “Muffins”

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