Category Archives: Super Easy to Make

September 26, 2010 · 9:49 am

Banana Peanut Butter and Honey Panini

Our oldest gets the Food Network magazine form the mail and I find it in his room; I haven’t even had a chance to look at it yet. After reading it cover to cover, this is what he asked me to make for him.

Ingredients:
2 slices cinnamon swirl bread
Peanut butter
Honey
1 Banana

Instructions:
Spread peanut butter on one slice of bread. Spread a thin layer of honey on the other slice of bread. Place banana slices on top of peanut butter. Put the piece of bread with honey on top of the bananas to make a sandwich. If you have a panini maker, use it. If not, heat a skillet over medium low heat and spray with cooking spray. Place sandwich in skillet and put a heavy skillet on top of it for a few minutes. Flip the sandwich over, place the skillet on top of it again and cook for a few minutes on that side.

What did the family think? Our oldest loved it. Our youngest liked it, but after tasting it, he had me take the bananas off. He’s not a big banana fan to begin with.

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Filed under After School Snacks, Easy, Sandwich, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make, Vegetarian

September 23, 2010 · 10:52 pm

Mexican Rice

I love it when I realize that I need a side dish in the middle of making the main dish, scramble to figure out what that might be and then am able to throw something together out of what’s already in the pantry.

Ingredients:
1 T olive oil
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup Minute Rice
7 oz salsa verde
8 oz tomato sauce

Instructions:
Heat medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and onions. When onions begin to soften, add garlic. After a few minutes add rice, salsa verde and tomato sauce. Stir to combine, cover and simmer for about five minutes, you may want to add more rice to make the mixture thicker. Remove from heat and let sit for about five minutes.

What did the family think? I don’t think they boys ate it, but Sean and I both liked it. I was impressed that I had everything in the pantry to throw this together.

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Filed under Easy, Mexican, Side Dish, Six Ingredients or Less, Spicy, Super Easy to Make, 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 17, 2010 · 4:42 pm

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Twists

Our oldest has never met a baked good he didn’t like, so when he saw these in last month’s Food Network magazine, he HAD to have them. Today I finally got everything we needed and we made them together after school.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup softened cream cheese
1 T cinnamon sugar
1 package refrigerated bread sticks (the kind you smack on the counter to open)
Melted Butter

Instructions:
Beat cream cheese and cinnamon sugar together until smooth.

Spread cream cheese mixture on breadsticks.

Twist and stretch breadsticks and bake as the breadstick label directs.

Brush with melted butter when they come out of the oven.

What did the family think? I had some along with our oldest. They were really good, especially fresh out of the oven. I think the next time we make these, I will sprinkle some cinnamon sugar on top of them so they are more cinnamonny.

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Filed under After School Snacks, Bread, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make, Vegetarian

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 11, 2010 · 8:24 pm

Apple and Cheese Quesadillas

This has been a new addition to our lunchbox menu and they make a great snack, too.

Ingredients:
Flour tortilla
Shredded Cheddar cheese
Apple, thinly sliced

Instructions:
Place a tortilla on a microwaveable plate. Sprinkle cheddar cheese on tortilla. Place in microwave until cheese is just barely melted. Place apples in a single layer on one side of the tortilla. Fold over, cut in half and enjoy.

If you are going to put this in your child’s lunch, let it rest for a couple of minutes after placing the apples on it and cutting it and then wrap it in aluminum foil. If you don’t wait and wrap it up before it has a chance to cool off a little, your child will have a soggy quesadilla come lunchtime. We learned this the hard way. 🙂

What did the family think? These are a favorite with my oldest.

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

September 10, 2010 · 9:01 am

Oatmeal Applesauce Bread

I love it when I get in the mood to bake and I already have everything I need. This was something I whipped up last night and it was the perfect addition to the boys’ lunches today.

Ingredients:
1 cup applesauce
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup butter or margarine (at room temperature)
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup oats
1 tsp vanilla

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease one loaf pan.

Mix applesauce, sugars and margarine together. In separate bowl, combine flour, salt and baking powder. Stir together applesauce and flour mixtures. Add eggs, oats and vanilla and stir to combine.

Pour into loaf pan. Bake 30 to 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean.

I had some of this with apple butter and it was SO good. I bet it is good with regular butter, too. I would try it with apple butter first if I were you. 🙂

Did I change anything? Mine seemed to take more like 50 minutes to bake.

What did the family think? I am the only one who has had some so far and I give it a thumbs up. I put some in the boys’ lunches today, so we’ll see what the verdict is when they get home. This would make a good after school snack, too.

from halfassed kitchen

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Filed under After School Snacks, Bread, Breakfast, Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Super Easy to Make, Vegetarian

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

September 4, 2010 · 7:25 pm

Roasted Veggies

I haven’t found a roasted veggie I don’t like and these are no exception…

Ingredients:
1 medium zucchini, cut into spears
1 red bell pepper, cut into spears
1 red onion, cut into wedges
2 T olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions:
Heat oven to 450 degrees.

Place veggies in a large roasting pan or on a cookie sheet that has sides. Add olive oil, salt and pepper and stir/toss to coat.

Arrange veggies in a single layer for about 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Veggies are done when they are light brown and tender.

We had this with pesto and lemon kabobs, grapes and bread and butter.

Did I change anything? This recipe also called for asparagus, summer squash and a yellow bell pepper, but I knew we wouldn’t be able to eat all of that, so I just chose a few veggies to work with. If you are going to use all of these veggies, then you need more olive oil.

What did the family think? Hubby and I really liked them. My favorite was the red onions. The kids weren’t impressed.

from cooks.com

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Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Side Dish, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make, Vegetarian

September 1, 2010 · 11:17 pm

Olive Oil, Garlic and Lemon Chicken

So easy and simple!

Ingredients:
2 1/2-3 lb. fryer, cut up
1/2 cup olive oil
6 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:
Wash chicken and pat dry. Pour olive oil in a 9″x12″ pan. Place chicken pieces in pan and turn to coat oil on all sides. Sprinkle salt and pepper on chicken. Sprinkle garlic, and lemon juice over all. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour, basting every 15 minutes, or until chicken is tender.

We had this with watermelon and a baguette.

What did the family think? Everyone ate it so it must have been a hit. Hubby ate his with spicy German mustard and the boys ate theirs with catsup.

Did I change anything? I just used chicken breasts. Also, the recipe called for parsley. I used the parsley, but I think it would have been better without it.

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