Ritz Cracker Poppy Seed Chicken

Hello,

Last week I made this recipe: http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2010/06/poppy-seed-chicken.html I call it ritz cracker poppy seed chicken. I was very happy about how it came out. Delish!

Here are the ingredients that you will need:

• 5 cups cooked chicken - I used a 2lb pack of 3 large breasts
• 1 cup sour cream - I used an individual greek yogurt instead
• 2 cans cream of chicken soup - I used the 98% fat free
• 2 cups crushed ritz crackers (about 1.5 rolls) - I used 40 of the reduced fat crackers
• 1/2 cup melted butter 
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
• Additions - I used all of the additions the blogger suggested and added one of my own!
• 1 teaspoon worcesertshire sauce
• 1 teaspoon celery salt - sadly I did not have any of this
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon tabasco sauce - this was my addition. I strongly recommend it. Gives the dish more flavor
• rice - I put a layer of rice at the bottom of my dish...about 1.5 cups

First you'll need to cook your chicken and shred it. If I would have thought about it earlier, I would have cooked my chicken in the crockpot but I just baked it in the oven with some salt and pepper instead. Then I shredded it with two forks. I put my cooked rice in the bottom of my greased baking dish and then my chicken on top of that. In a bowl, mix together the cream of chicken soup, sour cream, worchestershire, celery salt, garlic, lemon juice, pepper, and tabasco. Spread this evenly on top of your chicken and rice. In another bowl, mix your melted butter, crushed ritz crackers, and poppy seeds. Sprinkle this on top of the soup mixture. Now bake at 350 for 30 minutes and voila! I was very happy how good this dish turned out! I hope you enjoy it too! Happy couponing, cooking, and crockpotting!

French Onion Pork Chops

Hello!

So earlier this week I made French Onion Pork Chops and followed this recipe: http://www.pauladeen.com/recipes/recipe_view/french_onion_pork_chops/ with my own edits of course!

The original recipe calls for the following:

• 4 boneless pork chops - I had 3 pork chops
• 2 packets french onion soup mix - I used 1 packet 
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
• 2 eggs - I used 1 and it was plenty

Crack your egg into a shallow bowl and beat until mixed. Mix your breadcrumbs and onion soup mix together in another shallow bowl. Dredge your pork chops in the egg and then in the soup/breadcrumb mix and placed on a foil lined sheet. I completely covered both sides of all my pork chops. There was plenty of egg leftover. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes on each side so 30 minutes total. 

I thought these turned out really good but kind of salty. I think next time I would use 4 chops and the same amount of the other ingredients so they wouldn't be quite as salty.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did! Happy couponing, cooking, and crockpotting!

Crockpot Italian Chicken

Hello,

A few weeks ago I tried this recipe called crockpot Italian chicken: http://www.saltlicker.com/crockpot-italian-chicken-4-chicken-breasts-1-packet-zesty-italian-dressing-seasoning-8-oz-cream-cheese-softened-2-cans-cream-of-chicken-soup-2-tablespoons-of-garlic-powder-1-package-of-pasta-cook-o/

I have to say it was very good! However, very caloric. The ingredients you will need are:

• 1 package chicken breasts - I think I used about 2 pounds which was 3 large breasts cut into cubes
• 1 packet zesty Italian dressing mix
• 8 oz cream cheese - I used the neufchatel cream cheese and cut it into small cubes and softened 
• 2 cans cream of chicken soup
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• any kind of pasta you like

You will need to add all but the pasta to your crockpot and stir until thoroughly mixed. Cook on low for 4-6 hours. Once the chicken is cooked you can add your cooked pasta to the crockpot and stir it all together. 

This was a very delicious recipe and I highly recommend! You can easily make it lower fat and calories by using fat free cream cheese and the lower fat cream of chicken soups.

Happy couponing, crockpotting, and cooking!

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Casserole

The name says it all right? I absolutely love buffalo chicken dip so when I saw this recipe I had to try it.

Here's the recipe that I followed:

http://holycannolirecipes.blogspot.com/2011/05/buffalo-chicken-potato-casserole.html

Sorry I don't have any original pictures! I promise I will get back on that!

Here's a picture from the above mentioned blog:

You will need:

• 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts cut in to strips or cubes - I used 2 lbs
• 1/3 cup hot sauce
• 5 cups shredded red potatoes - 1 used a 32oz bag of frozen home fries. The little cubes of potato. I wish I had used hashbrowns instead.
• 1 cup ranch or bleu cheese dressing - I used bleu cheese because that's what I had
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese - I didn't use any. I bet it would have been better if I had though.
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs - again I didn't use any because I made mine in the crockpot instead of in the oven so I don't think the breadcrumbs would have worked quite as well

I cut my chicken into cubes and put it in the crockpot along with the bag of frozen homefries, hot sauce, bleu cheese dressing, and can of soup. I added about a half a cup of chicken broth to mine to make it a little more soupy. Stir it all up and put your crockpot on low. Now I did mine on low for 4 hours and the homefries weren't done all the way. So next time I would do 6 hours on low instead.

I did not end up being super thrilled with my result. It was ok but not my favorite. I think it definitely would have been better with the cheese and breadcrumbs and hashbrowns instead of homefries. I still have leftovers so I think I'm going to mix some of it with eggs and have it on toast.

I hope you enjoy this recipe and happy cooking, crockpotting, and couponing!

New Recipes to Try

Looking over my food board on my Pinterest the other day got me thinking. I have to have close to 200 recipes posted on there and I haven't tried nearly enough. So I made a list of 24 recipes that I want to try and make over the next two months. Here's my list (I've already made a few!). I would really love to hear if anyone would like me to try other recipes or if any of these recipes sound more appetizing than others? Please let me know! Happy cooking, crockpotting, and couponing!

Please note:  recipes that I have tried have a line through them!

1. French onion pork chops - http://www.pauladeen.com/recipes/recipe_view/french_onion_pork_chops/
2. Feta and chive sour cream scones - http://joythebaker.com/2012/12/feta-and-chive-sour-cream-scones/
3. Sweet pork tacos - http://www.jellypin.com/sweet-pork-tacos/
4. Cornbread waffle with chili - http://www.plainchicken.com/2011/02/cheddar-cornbread-waffles.html
5. Crockpot mac and cheese - http://tipgarden.blogspot.ca/2011/09/one-pot-mac-and-cheese.html
6. BBQ chicken cornbread pie - http://www.tablefortwoblog.com/2012/05/24/bbq-chicken-cornbread-pie/
7. Baked general tso's chicken - http://www.nlrockrecipes.com/2009/03/this-sweet-and-spicey-chicken-is-one-of.html
8. Meatball Stroganoff - http://menumusings.blogspot.com/2011/06/meatballs-stroganoff.html
9. Buffalo chicken casserole - http://holycannolirecipes.blogspot.com/2011/05/buffalo-chicken-potato-casserole.html
10. Tex-mex chicken and rice casserole - http://www.bhg.com/recipe/poultry/tex-mex-chicken-and-rice-casserole/
11. Bacon cheddar scones - http://www.annies-eats.com/2010/04/08/bacon-cheddar-scones/
12. Crockpot ribs - http://teamhess.blogspot.com/2011/07/recipe-barbecue-ribs-in-crock-pot.html
13. Cream cheese enchiladas - http://pearls-handcuffs-happyhour.blogspot.com/2010/05/cream-cheese-greatness.html
14. Crockpot italian chicken - http://www.saltlicker.com/crockpot-italian-chicken-4-chicken-breasts-1-packet-zesty-italian-dressing-seasoning-8-oz-cream-cheese-softened-2-cans-cream-of-chicken-soup-2-tablespoons-of-garlic-powder-1-package-of-pasta-cook-o/
15. Tatertot casserole - http://blogchef.net/tater-tot-casserole-recipe/
16. Oven baked chicken fajitas - http://realmomkitchen.com/9318/oven-baked-chicken-fajitas/
17. Crockpot chicken and dumplings - http://tastykitchen.com/blog/2011/11/homemade-chicken-and-dumplings/
18. Cheddar bacon ranch chicken pasta - http://cassiecraves.blogspot.ca/2012/04/cheddar-bacon-ranch-chicken-pasta.html
19. Crockpot orange chicken - http://team-t-adventures.blogspot.com/2010/03/crock-pot-orange-chicken.html
20. Ritz cracker chicken - http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2010/06/poppy-seed-chicken.html
21. Garlicky baked shrimp - http://normalcooking.wordpress.com/2012/07/26/garlicky-baked-shrimp/
22. Cornbread chicken pot pie - http://gooseberrypatch.typepad.com/blog/2012/03/motw-101-hearty-recipes.html
23. Crockpot smothered beef burritos - http://www.food-pusher.com/2010/08/chile-colorado-burritos.html
24. Crockpot french dip - http://bakingbites.com/2008/02/slow-cooker-french-dip-sandwich/

Meatball Stroganoff

So I don't have any pictures for this recipe :( But if you go to the original blogger's page you can see pictures of theirs: http://menumusings.blogspot.com/2011/06/meatballs-stroganoff.html

I really love creamy sauces and so I took this recipe and made it my own with what I had to work with!

The recipe calls for:

• 1 bag of frozen meatballs - I used a bag of turkey meatballs
• evoo to brown the meatballs with - approximately 1 tablespoon
• 2 cups beef broth - I used approximately 1 cup of chicken broth because that's what I had
• salt, pepper, parsley, oregano basil - I used my italian seasoning instead - approximately 2-3 tablespoons
• 2/3-1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• egg noodles

Okay so here's where I varied from the original recipe. Instead of using the sour cream and heavy whipping cream I used a can of Progresso Recipe Starter's Garlic instead:

This stuff is awesome. I got a bunch of cans of all the varieties a while back while couponing.

You'll want to follow the directions on your bag of meatballs as to how to cook them on the stove. When that's done, add your evoo and brown the meatballs. I added my broth and simmered it with the meatballs for a few minutes. Then add your can of 'soup' and your italian seasoning. I just cooked it until the sauce was heated all the way through. It would have been nice to have had some sour cream to add in at this step to make it a bit creamier but alas I did not have any. In the mean time cook your egg noodles. Once the sauce is thoroughly heated just add your sauce to your noodles. That's it! Pretty easy and I thought it was pretty good. Not the best I've ever had but it worked!

If you have any suggestions on how to improve this recipe please let me know! I was thinking you could do 2 cans of cream of mushroom too instead of the recipe starter and just add some garlic.

Happy cooking, crockpotting, and couponing!

Pizza Pie

Hello,

So this is another recipe I originally found on pinterest:

http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Tebow-Family-Pizza-Pie

Now while I am a fan of Tim Tebow, I am not a fan of the Gators. Gross. Go Dawgs!

The original ingredients call for:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
• 1 envelope italian-style spaghetti sauce mix
• 1 can (6oz) tomato paste
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 tube (12oz) refrigerated biscuits
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese plus 1 tablespoon divided
• 2 cups (8oz) mozzarella cheese

So obviously I didn't follow that exactly...

I used:

• 1 can of crescent rolls (8 rolls)
• 1 pound ground beef
• onion - maybe 1 cup frozen?
• 1.5 cups marinara sauce
• italian seasoning to taste
• parmesan to taste
• 2 cups mozzarella
• pepperonis as needed

I browned the ground beef and onion and then drained. Mix the marinara sauce and italian seasoning with the ground beef and onion in the pan until heated through. Then, I pressed the can of crescent rolls (any refrigerated dough will do) into my greased pie pan. Pour the ground beef mixture into the pie pan. Cover with mozzarella and sprinkle parmesan to taste. I put a few pepperonis on top for good measure. 

Bake at 400 for 15-18 mins. I think I had to cook mine a little longer. It was delish! Remember that cooking generally doesn't mean you need to be exact. Feel free to experiment!

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did! Happy cooking, couponing, and crockpotting!

Crockpot Taco Soup

Hello,

So I was completely re-inspired to start posting on my blog again after I reader sent me an email encouraging me to keep on going. Thank you so much reader!

Soup is my favorite diet food. Usually for the volume you can have more of it than most other foods. Taco soup has become a weekly staple at my house. This recipe is so versatile. Please remember that you can make this your own!

Here's the finished product:

Here are the basic ingredients that you will need:

• package of chicken - this one is probably 1.5 pounds or 3 large breasts. Any kind of chicken will do. Fresh or frozen. 
• chicken broth - 1-2 cups? I usually put the broth in last so I can see how soupy (or not) I want to make it
• can of tomatoes (or rotel) - again any kind will do. I like the petite diced and normally I'll put two cans in. It's just personal preference!
• can of corn - fresh or frozen will work too!
• onions/peppers - I had a bag of both here. Fresh or frozen and as much or little as you like! Usually around 2 cups.
• garlic - approximately a tablespoon...again your preference
• salt/pepper/chili powder/taco seasoning - this is one of the first times I made this and I followed a recipe that said to use salt and pepper and chili powder. Now I just use 1 packet of low sodium taco seasoning which I prefer.
• can of black beans - not pictured here but it brings texture and flavor
• can of fiesta nacho cheese soup - not pictured here but that stuff rocks! You could also just use plain cheddar cheese soup or none at all if you really want a slimmer version.
• rice - sometimes I put rice in...normally just the pre-made stuff. Usually about 1 cup.
• small can of green chiles or jalapenos - whole can of green chiles or half a can of jalapenos. A whole can of jalapenos makes it pretty spicy but not unbearable.
• optional additions for the finished product: sour cream, cheese, tortillas, tortilla chips

Now just dump all that stuff into the crockpot and mix it all together. Don't drain any cans. Put your broth in last to see how much you want to add. I usually add 1-2 cups. And yes I put the chicken breasts in whole and frozen. Put your crockpot on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours. I prefer to do it low and slow but if you're in a time crunch do what you gotta do.

When the 8 hours is up I will take the chicken breasts out and shred them with forks and then put them back in the pot and stir it all up. 1 cup is usually around 120-150 calories which is awesome!

I have to admit the soup is even better when you add the cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips though!

Have fun and play around with this recipe. Happy cooking, crockpotting, and couponing!

Wrapping Paper Cone Christmas Tree

Hello,

A few weeks ago a friend and I decided to make this wrapping paper cone Christmas tree craft that I had found on Pinterest. Here is the website I used:  http://www.crafts-for-all-seasons.com/paper-cone-tree.html They looked so cute and sounded pretty simple. It ended up being a pretty time consuming project and not following the directions exactly proved to be our downfall. Here's what we ended up with:

They're pretty cute little trees. If I decide to do this craft again I will definitely devote more time and follow the directions more precisely. For a paper towel sized roll you will need the following items:

• cardboard tube from the center of a paper towel roll
• wrapping paper
• scissors
• tape
• ruler
• bow or ribbon for the top of the tree

DISCLAIMER:  The website at the top of the page has great pictures and instructions in case mine are confusing.

For our trees you will need to make 4 layers of 'leaves'. For the bottom row you will need to measure and cut 10-11 6x6 squares of wrapping paper. Form the squares into a cone shape and tape. Then, tape all the cones in a row around the cardboard tube a few inches from the bottom so your cones just barely touch your work surface. You will be making three more rows of cones. The next two rows you will need 10-11 5x5 squares and for the top row you will need 10-11 4x4 squares. I can't express how important it is that your measurements are precise. It makes making the cones so much simpler. Keep building the rows until you reach the top. You will need to put a bow or ribbon on the top of the tube to cover it up.

For more instructions and pictures make sure to visit the website above.

Happy cooking, crockpotting, and couponing!

Canned Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread with Cream Cheese

Hello,

For our holiday party at work this year I did not want to buy anything. So, I went to my fridge and looked at what I had to work with. I had a ton of canned cinnamon rolls from a couponing trip so I searched the internet to see how I could use them and that's where I found this recipe:  http://cookiesandcups.com/cream-cheese-filled-cinnamon-roll-monkey-bread/ This stuff was sooooo tasty! I would make it again in a heartbeat.

Ingredients:

• 3 8-count cans of cinnamon rolls - any kind will do
• 1 8oz block cream cheese
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter

Spray a bundt pan with non-stick spray and preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Cut up your block of cream cheese into 24 cubes. One for each cinnamon roll. Open your cinnamon rolls and flatten in your hand. Make sure to save the tub of icing in each can. Put a cube of cream cheese in the cinnamon roll and pinch it closed. Do this for all the cinnamon rolls and after each one just put it in the pan. It doesn't have to be pretty looking. My pan looked about half full when all the cinnamon rolls were done. Next, combine your butter and brown sugar in a bowl and microwave until your butter is melted. Stir the mixture and pour over your cinnamon rolls. Bake for approximately 35-40 minutes. When the rolls have cooled for a few minutes, flip onto a plate. Now you can pour your icing over the top.

I highly recommend this recipe. So delicious! Happy couponing, cooking, and crockpotting!

Crockpot Hawaiian Chicken

Hello,

A while back I found this simple recipe on Pinterest for a pineapple, brown sugar, and soy sauce crockpot chicken. Simple and delicious. I paired it with fried rice. The recipe I followed is here:  http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=900626

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts
• 1 cup pineapple juice - I had these small cans so I just used 1 can
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup soy sauce

Mix pineapple juice, brown sugar, and soy sauce in your crockpot. Add your chicken and stir. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. Easy as that. I really liked the sweet flavor of the chicken that the brown sugar and pineapple juice gave.

Happy couponing, cooking, and crockpotting!