Easy Chicken Parmesan

INGREDIENTS
chicken (sliced thin)
butter
Italian bread crumbs
Parmesan cheese
Provolon/Mozzarella cheese slices
Spaghetti sauce (we use Ragu)
Pasta

DIRECTIONS
1.  Set oven at 400 degrees
2.  Slice chicken in half (we like it thin!) and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder
3.  Melt half a stick of butter
4.  Lay out Italian bread crumbs on a plate and stir in some parmesan cheese.
5.  Dip chicken in melted butter and then coat with bread crumbs
6.  Cook for 20 minutes.
7.  Place slice cheese (provolon, mozzarella; we use cheddar b/c Pen loves it that way!) on top of chicken and then top with Spaghetti sauce (we use Ragu)
8.  Cook for another 10 minutes.
9. Serve with pasta

I always warm up a little more sauce for the noodles and make garlic bread.

Enchilada Casserole

INGREDIENTS
1.5 lbs ground beef
1/2 medium onion (diced)
1 green bell pepper (diced)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can mild enchilada sauce
1/2 can diced rotel tomatoes
1 c. grated cheddar cheese
Corn tortillas

DIRECTIONS:
1.  Brown meat, onions, bell peppers and drain
2.  Add canned ingredients and cook until bubbles
3.  Line bottom of 9x12" dish with tortillas (torn into quarters)
4.  Pour 1/2 mixture over tortillas
5. Layer tortillas and mixture until gone
6.  Top with grated cheese
7.  Cook 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees

**I recently discovered this could be made even easier my layering the bottom with premade taquitos and then adding all the rest on top.  Not quite as good but good enough if time calls for the change. You don't have to brown the meat and you wouldn't need to have all the layers.

Easy Italian Chicken

INGREDIENTS

Boneless chicken breasts (cubed or sliced)
1.2 cup Italian dressing
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 cup grated parmesan or romano cheese
4-6 medium potatoes (cubed or diced)

DIRECTIONS
1. Place chicken at bottom of crockpot and cover with half of the seasonings cheese
2. Place potatoes on top and around and cover with the other half of seasonings and cheese
3. Cook on low for 6-8 hours (takes less time when you cube the meat).

I got this recipe from southernfood.about.com

Pineapple Delight Cake

This was my FAVORITE dessert as a child. I've never really liked sugary icing and have always gravitated towards fruity desserts. This whipped icing is really the only kind I will eat. It was my birthday cake request when I was younger and my college roommate even made this for me on my birthdays!

INGREDIENTS
1 Super Moist Yellow cake Mix (and ingredients listed)
1 can crushed pineapple, drained
1 medium tub of Cool Whip
1 small pkg instand vanilla pudding mix


DIRECTIONS
1. Prepare cake in round layers
2. Mix drained pineapple, Cool Whip, and Pudding mix
3. Ice cake with topping

**Keep refrigerated**

Turkey Frittata

INGREDIENTS

Orange/Yellow bell pepper (diced)
Tomato (diced)
Onion (diced)
Ground Turkey or leftover Thanksgiving turkey (cooked)
10-12 Eggs
1/4 c. cream (I've used milk too)
Shredded cheddar cheese
*You can add any veggie really, spinach works well too... or potatoes would go

DIRECTIONS

1. Saute bell pepper and onion in an oven safe skillet
2. Add Tomato and turkey (couple minutes)
3. Whip eggs and cream (I add salt and pepper here)
4. Pour into skillet and stir gently until it sets around the edges (eggs should look both runny and lumpy)
5. Broil in oven until puffy (on the bottom shelf)
6. Top with shredded cheddar cheese and broil until melted


This is a combo recipe from Rachel Ray and from somewhere else???

Gemelli with Sweet Sausage and Spinach

INGREDIENTS:
3/4 pound gemelli, penne, or rotini (I used penne)
Salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, cut in half and thinly sliced
1 pound sweet Italian sausages, casings removed
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 cups coarsely chopped baby spinach (used 2 c frozen, thawed first)
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, halved (or as many as you want!)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the gemelli until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water.
2. Meanwhile, in a large, deep skillet, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Add the onion and cook over med. high heat, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the sausage and crushed red pepper. Cook, breaking up the meat with the back of a spoon, until no trace of pink remains.
**I added diced red peppers here.**
4. Add the spinach and tomatoes and cook just until softened.
5. Add the gemelli and Parmesan cheese to the pan.
6. Add reserved cooking water as needed.
7. Cook over moderate heat, lightly crushing the tomatoes, until heated through. Season with salt and serve. Add additional Parmesan cheese to each serving if desired.


**I actually didn't add the pasta and parmesan in the skillet and let everyone add it on their own. DH doesn't like parmesan, so he used cheddar cheese and spaghetti instead of penne. He also added some Ragu sauce (he said it didn't "look" right... he's big on how something looks). He loved it though. I loved it the way it is inteded!

This recipe is from Michelle (MMmom), from an online cooking board I'm part of.

Chicken Broccoli Shells

INGREDIENTS
1 jar Alfredo sauce
2 cups frozen chopped broccoli (thawed)
2 cups diced cooked chicken
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
21 jumbo pasta shells (cooked)

DIRECTIONS
1. Combine Alfredo sauce, broccoli, chicken and cheeses.
2. Spoon into pasta shells
3. Place in greased baking dish (I used wax paper)
4. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until heated through (hasn't ever taken this long for me... more like 20 minutes)

I have let Caleb dip his shell in spaghetti sauce too (since he loves to dip!)/ just use the sauce as a topping for penne pasta
I'm also planning to add spinach to the sauce.

Apple Cranberry Crisp

INGREDIENTS

2/3 c. oatmeal (not instant)
3 Tbsp flour
3/4 c. brown sugar
2 Tbsp + 1 tsp margarine
3 Tbsp cornstarch
4 c. apples (peeled and sliced)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/5 Tbsp lemon juice (have used orange too)
1 c. fresh/frozen cranberries

DIRECTIONS
1. Set over to 375 degrees
2. Mix oats, flour, 1/3 c. brown sugar and melted butter
3. In separate bowl, mix the rest of sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon
4. Add apples, lemon juice and cranberries to step 3
5. Place fruit mixture in 2 quart dish
6. Sprinkle with oat topping
7. Bake 35-45 minutes

Serve warm with ice cream

Avocado Black Bean Salsa

INGREDIENTS

1 avocado
1/2 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1/2 tomato (diced)
cilantro to taste
salt to taste
lime to taste

DIRECTIONS

Basically mix all ingredients together until you get the flavor you like.
Eat as a dip with chips, with pita bread, inside a tortilla,...

Good for a lunch/snack.

Grilled Cheese Pizza

This is a good quick toddler lunch and they can help prepare it too!

Mozarella/Provolone Cheese
Bread
Pepperoni (I use the mini's for my toddler)
Butter
Pizza Sauce (I have used spaghetti sauce)

Butter one side of bread. On the opposite side of the bread, add cheese, pepperoni, and pizza sauce. Grill the sandwich as you would grilled cheese (with butter side out). Dip with pizza sauce if wanted.

Oatmeal Cranberry Drops

1 c. flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 c. butter, softened
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp orange zest
3 c. quick oats
1 c. white chocolate chips
1 c. dried cranberries

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. Beat butter and both sugars in separate large bowl until creamy.
4. Beat in eggs, vanilla, and orange zest.
5. Beat in flour mistrue.
6. Stir in oatmeal one cup at a time.
7. Add chocolate chips and dried cranberries.
8. Drop heaping teaspoonfulls on cookie sheet, 1 inch apart and bake for 10 minutes

** I got this recipe from Parenting magazine (Dec/Jan 08)