Recipes

I've had a few requests of some of my recipes that I use frequently.

Granted, I am NOT a good cook, I can just follow recipes really well! I stick to what works for our family and our taste buds.

Russian Chicken

6-8 chicken breasts

8 oz Russian dressing

8 oz apricot preservs

1 pkg. onion soup mix

20 oz can pinapple chunks with juice

Mix Russian dressing, apricot preserves, onion soup mix, and pinapple chuncks in a 9x13 inch pan. Add chicken and make sure sauce coats each piece of chicken. Cover with foil. Bake at 350 for 1-1/2 hours. Serve over rice or noodles.

(For my husband and I and left overs for lunch the next day, I would half the recipe).

Chicken and Rice

6 chicken breasts*

1 pkg. dry onion soup mix

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 c. rice

3 c. water

Combine in bowl. Put in 9x13in pan. Cook at 375 for 1 hour (or until chicken is done).

*I put in 3 chicken breasts and only put in 1/2 pack of onion soup mix.

(Ryan was licking the pan)

Easy Crock Pot Italian Chicken

4 or more chicken breasts

1 can cream of mushroom Soup

1 envelope Good Seasons Italian dressing mix

3/4 c. sour cream

Put everything except sour cream in crock pot and cook for 5-7 hours. Frozen chicken breasts is okay. Add sour cream at the end. Serve over rice or noodles.

Brown Sugar Meatloaf

1 c. brown sugar

1 c. ketchup

3 Tbs Worcestershire

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef

1/2 c. milk

3/4 finely crushed saltine cracker crumbs

2 eggs

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

1 envelope onion soup mix

garlic for taste

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan. Mix brown sugar, ketchup, and 2 tbs. Worcestershire sauce in a separate, small mixing bowl. Pour half of the brown sugar and ketchup mix into the bottom of the loaf pan. In a large mixing bowl, mix remaining ingredients and shape into a loaf. Place on top of the brown sugar/ketchup mixture. Pour the remaining brown sugar and ketchup mix on top of the loaf. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour or until juices are clear.

(haven't tried this one, but I am SO excited to make my first meatloaf this week!)

Cream Cheese Chicken (crock pot)

4-6 chicken breasts (still frozen is fine)

2 Tbs butter

salt and pepper to taste

1 pkg. Dry Italian salad dressing mix

1 can cream of chicken soup

8 oz cream cheese

1 Tbs minced onion

Place chicken, butter, salt and pepper in crock pot. Sprinkle chicken with dry italian dressing mix. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours or 4-5 on high. About 45 minutes before done, mix soup, cream cheese, and onion until blended. Pour over the chicken and cook for remaining 45 minutes. Serve over rice or potatoes. Lay flat to freeze in ziplock bag.

(Ryan was in HEAVEN). Next time, I would only put in 5-6 oz of cream cheese. It was pretttty creamy.

Crispy Herb Chicken

1 1/4 c. crushed Rice Crispies

1 pkg Good Seasons Dry Italian mix

1 Tbs parsley flakes

4 boneless chicken breasts (or tenders)

1/4 C. melted butter

Combine cereal, dressing, and parsley. Brush chicken with butter. Roll chicken is cereal mixture. Place chicken on ungreased cookie sheet (or foil! easy clean up!). Bake at 375 for 30 minutes (or until chicken is done). We love it served with mashed potatoes.

(This is a family staple!) So good!

White Bean Chili (crock pot)

*this recipe really depends on size. I am putting down what 4 servings contains.

3 15oz cans white beans (drained)

4 12oz cans of chicken stock

2 Tbs butter

1 tsp minced garlic

1/3 cup diced onion

1 C. canned green chilis (depends on how hot you want it, maybe do a small can of chilis and one small can of jalapenos)

4 chicken breasts (frozen is fine)

1/2 Tbs cumin

1/2 Tbs dried oregano

1 tsp. black pepper

pinch red pepper flakes

*1/4 bunch of cilantro leaves chopped if you want

Put frozen chicken breasts in crock pot with 1/2 cup of water. Let cook for 2-3 hours on high. This makes shredding the chicken super easy. Or boil and shred. I love using my crock pot because it keeps my kitchen cool. Drain the water out of the crock pot. Leave chicken in crock pot. Drain the cans of beans, put in crock pot. Put cans of chicken stock in crock pot as well. In a saucepan, heat butter. Add garlic, onion, and chilies and saute for 5 minutes. Add chili mixture to crock pot with beans. Add cumin, oregano, pepper, red pepper flakes, and cilantro (if you want). Turn crock pot back on to high and let it simmer for 45-60 minutes. I love to have it on as long as possible because the spices really blend well together. Serve with cornbread, or mix it up mexican style with sour cream and tortilla chips!

Linguini with Zucchini

12 oz linguine (3/4 of a box)

2 Tbs olive oil

3 small zucchini, cut into thin half-moons

Kosher salt

2 cloves garlic, sliced

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/2 cup grated Parmeasan cheese (2 oz)

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Reserve 1/2 C. of pasta water. Meanwhile, heat the oil in large skillet. Add zucchini and 1/2 tsp salt. Cook, tossing often, until just tender, 4-5 minutes. Add garlic and red pepper and cook until heated through, 2-3 minutes. Toss the pasta with the reserved pasta water and 1/4 C. of the Parmeasan. Divide pasta into bowls and top with the zucchini mixture and remaining 1/4 C. Parmeasan cheese.

(if you don't have zucchini, broccoli is just as tasty!)

In conclusion, you may have noticed that I love:

crock pots

Italian seasoning packets

Onion soup packets

Onions

Garlic

Rice

frozen chicken breasts

canned foods

and sour cream!

These items are cheap and I almost always have them in the pantry. That makes for quick meals. and I have never met someone who doesn't love using a crock pot. Throw it in, set it and forget it! If you have any that you want to share, email me meaganbriggs3@gmail.com