Category Archives: Everybody Ate It

October 3, 2010 · 9:29 pm

Candy’s Cozi Classic Chicken

My good friend, Candy, entered this recipe in a recipe contest a year or so ago and won a sizable chunk of change, so it has got to be good. Right? Right!

Ingredients:
3 – 4 lb chicken parts (8 pieces)
Olive oil
Salt
Ground black pepper

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400°F.

Briefly run chicken pieces under water to rinse and pat dry with paper towels.

Drizzle olive oil on bottom of a roasting pan. Thoroughly rub chicken pieces with olive oil to coat.

Sprinkle both sides of chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Place chicken pieces with skin side up in the pan.

Cook for 30 minutes at 400°F. Lower oven temp to 350°F and cook for 15-30 minutes more or until juices run clear (not pink) when poked with a sharp knife or the internal temperature of the chicken breasts is 170°F.

Optional: To brown chicken pieces, place under broiler for 7-10 minutes of cooking.
When chicken is done, remove from oven and tent with aluminum foil and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving

What did the family think? We all LOVED it. Yes, even our youngest who can’t stand chicken said it was good. That’s a huge compliment.

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

October 2, 2010 · 8:11 am

Brownies Not From a Box

I got this recipe from my good friend, Janelle. They are as good as she said they were and they are easy. You don’t have to get a bunch of dishes dirty to make them and you probably already have everything you need to make these…I love it when that happens.

Ingredients:

2 sticks butter
3/4 c. cocoa powder
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 c. flour

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large microwave safe bowl, melt butter in the microwave for about 1 minute. Add cocoa powder, stir and continue to microwave until butter is melted. Add both sugars to the butter/cocoa mixture. Stir. Add eggs and vanilla. Stir. Lastly add flour. Stir. Put in a greased “one size smaller than a 9×13″ pan. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Try not to eat them all at once.

What did the family think? My oldest had a friend over after school and both of them gave these brownies two thumbs up. Then my hubby had some and while he was walking around the kitchen eating them, he was singing about how good they are.

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Filed under After School Snacks, Definitely Making it Again, Desserts, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Super Easy to Make, Vegetarian

September 27, 2010 · 11:43 am

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Muffins

Yes, they are as good as they sound and since it’s a muffin you don’t have to feel guilty about eating it like you might if it was a cookie.:)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
3/4 t. salt
1 1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1 cup rolled oats
2 eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 t. vanilla
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin or line with paper cups.

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Allow the butter to melt completely and then cook – the butter will foam and start to crackle. Continue cooking, keeping a close eye on the pan, until the crackling subsides and little brown bits appear in the bottom of the pan when you swirl it. Remove from heat as soon as the butter solids have browned and it smells rich and nutty. Pour butter, including the browned bits, into a heat-proof bowl and set aside to cool.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Whisk together until well combined then stir in oats. In a separate bowl, whisk together browned butter, eggs, buttermilk, and brown sugar. Stir in vanilla extract.

Add the butter mixture all at once to the flour mixture and stir with a large spoon until just combined (make sure to scrape up all the flour from the bottom of the bowl). Fold in raisins and nuts.

Using a standard-sized cookie scoop or a large spoon, divide batter between the 12 muffin cups (the cups should be mostly full).

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 – 23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean.

from Pinch My Salt

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Filed under After School Snacks, Bread, Desserts, Everybody Ate It, Vegetarian

September 26, 2010 · 10:26 am

Crock Pot Chicken with Black Beans and Cream Cheese

This is heavenly! Really, it has cream cheese so it has to be good. 🙂

Ingredients:
4-5 boneless, skinless FROZEN chicken breasts
15 1/2 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
15 oz. jar of your favorite salsa
8 oz package cream cheese

Instructions:
Place chicken in the crock pot.

Add black beans and salsa.

Cook on high for 4-5 hours until chicken is cooked through.

When crock pot is done, put cream cheese on top of everything and let sit for 1/2 half hour.

We had this with tortillas. I shredded the chicken after it was done cooking and we used the chicken mixture as the filling and just rolled it up. You could also serve this over rice.

Did I change anything? The original recipe called for a can of corn.

What did the family think? It was a huge hit. My kids love cream cheese, so I knew they would like it.

from food.com

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

September 24, 2010 · 11:25 pm

Sugar Cookies

Since the boys’ nanny (grandma) is visiting us, we made Halloween cookies today after school. (I know it’s not Halloween, but she won’t be here at Halloween.) These cookies turned out GREAT and they are perfect for frosting, cutting into shapes and/or decorating.

Ingredients:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla.

Gradually blend in the dry ingredients.

Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and place onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden.

Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.

Did I change anything? Since we used cookie cutters, we rolled the dough out on a floured surface, and then used a rolling pin to flatten out the dough. The boys made pumpkins and witches. After they had cooled we frosted them and added sprinkles. Sugar OVERLOAD!

What did the family think? There isn’t anything NOT to like about these. I am not a huge sugar cookie fan and I think these are fantastic.

from allrecipes.com

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Filed under Desserts, Everybody Ate It

September 22, 2010 · 2:28 pm

Spinach Tortilla Bake with Ricotta Cheese and Salsa Verde

We have been eating a lot of spinach around here. It’s in season right now so now’s the best time.

Ingredients:
2 T olive oil
4 chicken breasts (about 1 pound) OR 1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups store-bought salsa verde
3/4 cup ricotta cheese
3 large flour tortillas
1/2 red onion, chopped
3 cups baby spinach
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a large skillet, heat 1 T olive oil over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, add to the pan and cook, turning once, until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Let cool, then shred the meat and place in a bowl to the side.

In the same skillet, heat 1 T olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, cook for a few minutes and then add spinach until onions are soft and spinach is wilted.

In a small bowl, whisk together ricotta and salsa verde.

In a greased pie pan or 9-inch square baking dish, pour 1/3 of the salsa mixture in the bottom of the pie pan or baking dish. Next, place one tortilla on top. Next, 1/2 of the chicken, then half of the spinach mixture and then 1/2 the cheese. Repeat with salsa mixture, tortilla, chicken, spinach, cheese, tortilla. Top with remaining salsa mixture.

We had this with mexican rice and strawberries.

Did I change anything? The directions for this recipe were really confusing. I hope they are a little bit clearer now. Also, I cooked and shredded the chicken ahead of time for a quicker assembly and since the chicken had been sitting in the frig, I threw it in with the onion and spinach mixture to warm it up since it was already cooked.

What did the family think? Everyone really liked it. I think next time I make it I will switch out the chicken with some beans to make it vegetarian and maybe use pepper jack to give it some more spice. Also, I used a pizza cutter to cut this up…worked like a charm. 🙂

from Rachel Ray

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Filed under Chicken, Everybody Ate It, Mexican, Vegetarian

September 19, 2010 · 10:01 pm

Italian Chicken with Pasta

My house smelled SO good while this was cooking…

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
3 tsp Italian seasoning
2 tsp garlic powder
7 oz. angel hair pasta
26 oz. jar spaghetti sauce

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Combine Parmesan, Italian seasoning and garlic powder in a small bowl and stir to combine.

Coat each chicken breast with Parmesan mixture. Place each chicken breast in casserole dish sprayed with cooking spray. Bake for 20 minutes or until cooked through.

While chicken is cooking, cook pasta according to package directions and heat up spaghetti sauce (or pasta sauce as we call it in our house).

Serve chicken over top of pasta and pour sauce over everything.

We had this with grapes and a salad.

Did I change anything? The recipe called for 3 T of Italian seasoning and 2 T of garlic powder…that seemed like A LOT to me. The original recipe also called for broiling the chicken.

What did the family think? They loved it!


from momswhothink.com

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Filed under Chicken, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Italian, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make

September 15, 2010 · 9:23 pm

Spinach and Cheese Pasta Bake

Got this recipe from my good friend, Janelle. She said her whole family ate it up so I thought I would give it a try with mine.

Ingredients:
14 oz. box penne pasta
10 oz frozen creamed spinach, defrosted
7 1/2 oz. low fat ricotta cheese
1 cup Mozzarella, shredded
26 oz jar pasta sauce

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook pasta according to package directions.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together spinach, ricotta and Mozzarella.

When pasta is done and drained, add pasta to spinach mixture. Stir well.

Pour the pasta mixture into a casserole dish. Pour the spaghetti sauce over the pasta making sure to cover as much of the pasta as you can.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Did I change anything? I just changed the type of pasta (Janelle stuffed the spinach mixture into manicotti) and I used a whole jar of sauce. Janelle used a cup of sauce. My family LOVES sauce. I also couldn’t find the creamed spinach at my grocery store, so I ended up making my own creamed spinach.

What did the family think? Everyone loved it including our babysitter who was here to watch the boys so we could go to Back to School night at the boys’ school.

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

September 13, 2010 · 10:29 pm

Pasta e Fagioli with Italian Sausage (or Meatballs)

This is supposed to be a meatless dish, but to make everyone in the family happy I added some extra protein.

Ingredients:
Olive oil
One medium onion, chopped
1 tsp garlic, chopped
2 carrots, sliced
2 celery ribs, chopped
6 cups chicken broth
2 cans white beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup diced tomatoes
1 cup macaroni, dry
2 bay leaves
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp salt
Ground black pepper
Crushed red pepper flakes, to taste (optional)
3 Italian sausage links, sliced and cooked thoroughly (optional) or 8 meatballs (optional)

Instructions:
In a large stock pot, sauté onion, garlic, celery and carrots in olive oil until onions are tender. Add the broth, beans, crushed tomatoes, bay leaves, herbs, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Let simmer about 20 minutes, until vegetables have softened. Add macaroni and cook for 10 more minutes. If you are going to have this with Italian sausage, once the sausages have been sliced and cooked in a separate skillet, put them in the pot of soup. You can put the already cooked meatballs in the soup as well.

Serve with Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top.

We had this with grapes, salad and french bread.

Did I change anything? I just added the Italian sausage. I just sliced it up and cooked it in some olive oil in a skillet and then added it to the soup once it was done.

What did the family think? Everyone ate it! This worked out great, too because I made it this afternoon because I knew we would be getting home late from soccer practice. I just put it back on the stove to warm up after soccer while I was getting the salad ready and although it was a late dinner we were able to eat together as a family.

from Half Assed Kitchen

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Filed under Everybody Ate It, Italian, Stew/Soup

September 9, 2010 · 10:28 pm

Graham Cracker Sandwiches

My kids found this snack idea in Food Network’s magazine from last month. The magazine had a whole pull-out section of after school snack ideas. They will no longer settle for some popcorn or a cereal bar now that they have seen the possibilities. Thanks Food Network. 🙂

Ingredients:
2 graham cracker squares
Vanilla frozen yogurt (It helps if you let the yogurt stand out long enough to get a little soft.)
Chocolate chips (we used the miniature kind)

Instructions:
Put frozen yogurt on one of the graham cracker squares. Sprinkle a small helping of chocolate chips on top. Place remaining graham cracker square on top like a sandwich. Enjoy!

What did the family think? Well, the boys were the only ones who ate these and they loved them!

from Food Network Magazine

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Filed under After School Snacks, Desserts, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Sandwich, Super Easy to Make, Vegetarian