Spinach balls

10 oz frozen spinach, thawed

3 T minced red onion 

7 tbs Italian bread crumbs 

1/2 c Parmesan cheese

1/4c butter

1 tsp garlic pwd

1/4 tsp onion pwd

3 eggs 

Ring all the water out of the thawed spinach with paper towels. 

Melt butter in sauté pan and sauté onion. Let cool slightly. Mix all ingredients together. 

With a cookie/ice cream scoop into balls. Place on a parchment sheet. 

Bake 350 for 15 min. Or until slightly brown. 

Serve as an appetizer with tooth picks or over spaghetti. 

Cilantro sauce

I love the cilantro ranch recipe on here but it makes a ton and calls for a ton ingredients. I have been searching for an alternative to use for my small little family. This is it! Easy and not that many ingredients. And you can scale it up or down for your needs. 

Adapted from this recipe: http://lovelylittlekitchen.com/baked-honey-lime-chicken-taquitos/

P.s. The taquitos are amazing. So are Mel's version in enchilada style!! 

1 cup sour cream

1/3 cup La Victoria Green Taco sauce 

1-2 tsp Fresh lime juice

1/4 c cilantro 

Garlic powder 

Onion pwd

Cumin 

S&p 

Blend all ingredients. 

Chicken bacon ranch braid

1 cup chicken, diced

6 bacon slices cooked and diced 

8 oz cream cheese

1 T ranch dip powder

S&p

Cheddar cheese

Pillsbury crescent sheet dough or 1 batch of Mel's French bread roll dough 

Mix cheese, meat and seasonings together. 

Spread out dough into a rectangle. Smear filling out down the center. 

On the left and right sides of the filling make 1" cuts down the dough. Cris cross the dough "tabs" to make a braid effect. Tuck the 2 ends under and seal it up. 

Bake 350 for 15-20 min until golden brown. 

Easy cordon blue

This recipe is on Mel's kitchen cafe. I haven't tried the white sauce recipe she has with it. Check out her website to make it. 

http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2011/06/chicken-cordon-bleu-the-easy-way.html

This was one of my freezer meals I made when prepping for the baby being born. So easy to throw together! Already had everything on hand and now I've got a great meal in the freezer waiting to be cooked up!  

2 chicken breast, cut in half so you have 4 thin slices of whole breasts

Ham slices

Swiss slices or any white cheese, I used shredded mozzarella 

1 cup bread crumbs, I blended up a bunch of frozen heels of leftover bread I saved. 

2 T melted butter 

Lay out your chicken in a grease 8x8 pan. Layer on your choice of cheese. Cover the Cheese with ham slices.

Mix melted butter and bread crumbs together. Cover over the top of the ham. 

Bake 350 for 30-35 minutes. 

Ham & veg pasta

This is one of those "what needs to get out of  the fridge" dish. I just used whatever veg and meat I already had in the fridge. If you have other things you need used add it in. Pasta and cheese sauce are the perfect vehicles for meat and veggies. 

Favorite tube pasta, cooked 

Ham, diced

Peas

1 carrot, diced

1 celery, diced

1/2 onion, diced

1/2 green pepper, diced

1 cup chicken broth

4 oz cream cheese

1/4 c Parmesan cheese

1/2 c mozzarella cheese

In big skillet Sauté carrot, celery, onion, pepper until tender. Season with s&p and garlic powder.

Stir in broth, cream cheese, and Parmesan cheese until it gets creamy and smooth. Add in pasta, and peas. Top with mozzarella cheese. If your sauce gets too thick you can always stir in a couple tablespoons of your pasta water. 

Coconut oil

Here is a post from Mel I found helpful and it was a big factor in converting me to use coconut oil. 

Along with the coconut cinnamon muffins I posted with this. 

http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2013/10/coconut-oil.html

If that doesn't convert you try it:

Toasting some bread, spread on some coconut oil and sprinkle some cinnamon sugar on top. Or honey would be good. 

Make rice crispy treats with the coconut oil instead of butter. Wow!!! I added a couple heaping TBS of oil to a bag of mini mallows, melted and added in cereal. It tastes amazing!! I won't go back to butter. 

I also love to use it for frying. The best I've had so far was chicken dipped in egg and breaded in a mix of panko crumbs, garlic, onion, s&p. It made the chicken so crispy and flavorful!! Wow. Delish! Serve it with your favorite sauce. Sweet sour, wingers copy cat. Or dice over a salad (my favorite) 

15 min sweet and sour chicken

This is my go to recipe when I need dinner in 15 min or less. It's perfect for the end of the payday week. It seems that when the cupboards are empty there's always the ingredients available for this meal. 

 Mel's original recipe bakes hers for an hour to create this thick amazing sticky chicken. I cut that out and just pour the whole thing in the skillet and add a slurry to make it thick. We've discovered a new technique to make it even faster. Mix the corn starch and egg together to make a frying batter. Totally skips an extra step. Love it. 

Recipe is from melskitchencafe.com 

• 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 
• Salt and pepper
• 1 cup cornstarch
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup canola, vegetable or coconut oil
Sauce:
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 
  

1. Cut the chicken breasts into 1-inch pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Place the cornstarch in a gallon-sized ziploc bag. Put the chicken into the bag with the cornstarch and seal, tossing to coat the chicken.
2. Whisk the eggs together in a shallow pie plate. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat until very hot and rippling. Dip the cornstarch-coated chicken pieces in the egg and place them carefully in a single layer in the hot skillet.
3. Cook for 20-30 seconds on each side until the crust is golden but the chicken is not all the way cooked through (this is where it's really important to have a hot skillet. 
4. Mix the sauce ingredients together in a medium bowl and pour over the chicken. Simmer in the frying pan until the chicken in cooked through. If you like a thicker sauce add a cornstarch water slurry. 

Tex-mex casserole

This recipe is from melskitchencafe.com

My changes are: 

-Used only 1 tsp chili powder (it's not my favorite flavor and I felt like 2T was tons. It was perfect. 

-used flour tortillas and just left them whole. 

-halfed the entire recipe and only used 4 tortillas. Fit perfectly in an 8x8. 

-used the juice of an entire lime (we love lime)

-left out the oil and butter a non stick skillet worked great and after draining the ground beef there was a little bit of grease residue to be nonstick. 

Tex mex casserole 

• 14 corn tortillas cut into thirds
• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef or turkey
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 medium red or green bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced
• 1 large poblano chile, diced
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons chile powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• 8 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded
• 8 ounces Monterey jack cheese, shredded
• Chopped cilantro for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat a 9X13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray and set aside.
2. Arrange the cut tortillas in a single layer on two large, rimmed baking sheets. Bake the tortillas until slightly crisp, about 15 minutes.
3. In a large 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat, cook the ground beef or turkey with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper breaking the meat up into bite-sized pieces. Cook until the meat is no longer pink, 5-7 minutes. Scrape the meat onto a plate and wipe the skillet clean (you may need to drain off excess grease from the meat depending on the fat content).
4. In the same skillet over medium heat, add the butter and olive oil and stir in the onion, bell pepper, poblano, corn and garlic. Cook until the veggies are softened, 3-4 minutes. Stir the flour, chile powder, cumin and coriander into the vegetable mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1-2 minutes. Gradually whisk in the chicken broth, whisking constantly. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook until thick, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Stir in the beans, lime juice and season with salt and pepper.
5. Line the bottom of the greased baking pan with 1/3 of the baked tortillas. Layer with 1/3 of the meat and then 1/3 of the veggie/sauce mixture and then sprinkle with 1/3 of the cheeses. Repeat that process again twice more ending with the cheeses.
6. Bake the casserole until hot and bubbly, about 30-35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes or so before serving. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Honey Parmesan Pork Roast

This was Fantastic!! Try it right now! 

Last time my sauce got burnt. Next time I'll cook the pork for half and then add the sauce at the end half see if that helps. 

1 (2-3 pound) boneless pork roast
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup honey
3 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp dried basil
2 Tbsp minced garlic
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water

Spray slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Place roast in slow cooker. In a small bowl, combine the cheese, honey, soy sauce, basil, garlic,and oil; pour over pork. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours or until a meat thermometer reads 160°.
Remove meat to a serving platter; keep warm. Skim fat from cooking juices; transfer to a small saucepan. Bring liquid to a boil. Combine cornstarch and water until smooth. Gradually stir into pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Slice roast; serve with gravy (I also made mashed potatoes and the gravy was delicious on them!).

Pineapple Salsa Chicken

If you like fruit salsas you'll love this dinner from Mel's Kitchen Cafe. 

4-6 chicken breasts

1 can black beans, drained rinsed

1 can white beans, drained rinsed

1 20 oz can crushed pineapple

1 cup Salsa

Put all ingredients in your crock pot. Cook on low for 6 hours. Shred chicken. Serve on tortillas with your favorite toppings. Sour cream, cheese, cilantro etc. serves 8

I cut this recipe in half. It still made a lot. I only had an 8 oz can of pineapple chunks. I drained it and threw it in the food processor for a quick buzz to make it crushed. 

Trav loves spicy food so I used half medium and half mild salsa. Turned out the perfect heat and sweet mix. 

I saved the other half cans of beans to make burritos and quesadillas for lunch tomorrow. Yum!! 

Mexican Stuffed Shells

Certainly will make them again. We served them with chips, salsa and the easy black bean dip also on this site. With a little fruit salad or green salad. You're good to go. Yummy!!

• Next time, I'll make the cumin 1 T and add cilantro and fresh lime juice. Leave out the chicken and cut the recipe in half. Although making the entire batch will give you a freezer meal for another day. 
• 
  

Recipe from busy at home blog. 

• 4 cups chicken breast, cooked and chopped
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 6 green onions, diced
• 1/2 each of red, green, yellow, & orange bell peppers (or 2 whole bell peppers of your choice), diced
• 3 (8 oz.) blocks cream cheese, softened (not melted)
• 2 cans diced tomatoes with chiles (don't drain) (Rotel or store brand, either works)
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 cup of picante sauce
• 38 large pasta shells, cooked al dente

1. Cook pasta shells in well salted, boiling water until al dente (still have a little bite to them) If you cook them too long, they will be difficult to stuff, plus they will have additional cooking time, once they are stuffed. Drain the pasta and set aside while you make the filling.
2. Cook, drain and dice enough chicken breast to make 4 cups. I always have homemade chicken stock and pre-cooked diced chicken bagged in my freezer. You could use canned chicken broth if you prefer.
3. To make the filling, mix diced chicken, drained black beans, green onions, diced peppers, and cumin in a large mixing bowl. Thoroughly incorporate all the ingredients.
4. In a separate bowl, mix the cream cheese, chicken stock and undrained tomatoes with chiles. When thoroughly combined, pour it over the chicken mixture and mix well. (If you have trouble incorporating the cream cheese and tomatoes, you can heat it slightly in the microwave.)
5. Spread 3/4 c. picante sauce in the bottom of a large baking pan. (I used 13x18x2, but I’m guessing that two 9×13′s would also work.) Reserve the final 1/4 cup, for later.
6. Using a spoon, or your fingers, fill each of your cooked and cooled pasta shells, setting them into the picante covered pan. Continue until all shells are filled and arranged in the pan.
7. When the pan is full, drizzle the shells with the remaining 1/4 cup of picante and then sprinkle with the shredded cheddar cheese.
8. Cover the baking pan tightly with foil and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Pork carnitas

Recipe is from Cooks Illustrated. 

It might look like a lot of work but it couldn't be easier. It is so delicious!! So moist and tender. Heaven! 

4 pound boneless pork butt, fat trimmed and cut into 2 inch cubes

1 1/2 tsp salt

3/4 tsp pepper

1 tsp ground cumin

1 onion, peeled and halved

2 bay leaves

1 tsp dried oregano

2 Tb fresh lime juice

2 C water

1 medium orange, juiced and keep the spent halves

1.  Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat to 300 degrees.  Combine all the ingredients in a large Dutch oven, including the spent orange halves and juice.  Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium-high heat, uncovered.  Once it simmers, cover pot and transfer it to the oven.  Cook until the meat falls apart when prodded with a fork, about 2 hours.

2.  Remove the pot from the oven and turn on the broiler.  Use a slotted spoon to remove the meat from the pan and place it on a large foil-lined jelly roll pan.  Remove and discard everything from the pot except for the cooking liquid.  Place pot over high heat on the stove and boil until thick and syrupy, about 20 minutes.  You should have about 1 C of liquid remaining when it is finished.

3.  While the liquid is reducing, use two forks to pull each cube of pork into three equal sized pieces.  Once the liquid has become a syrup, gently fold in the pieces of pork into the pot.  Try not to break up the pork any further.  Taste and add additional salt and pepper. 

4.  Spread the pork back onto the foil lined pan and evenly spread the meat around so there is a single layer of meat.  Place the jelly roll pan on the lower middle rack of the oven and broil until the top of the meat is well browned and edges are slightly crisp, about 5 to 8 minutes.  Using a wide metal spatula, flip the pieces of meat and broil the other side until well browned and edges are slightly crisp, 5 to 8 minutes.  Serve immediately in a tortilla with all your favorite toppings.

Wingers copycat

1/2 c brown sugar 

1/4 c FRANKS original hot sauce

1 t cider vinegar

1 T corn syrup

Bring to a boil. Cook 2-5 minutes The longer you boil it the thicker it gets. 

P.s. too long and it makes toffee.  So keep an eye on it 😉I know from experience. 

This only serves 3. 

If your serving it for kids that don't like spicy cut back on the franks a bit. 

We like it with Tyson's chicken tenders. And steak fries. 

You can wrap it up in a tortilla with lettuce tomato cheese and ranch to make a sticky wrap. Wingers uses chipotle tortillas but I've never seen that flavor in stores. 

I like to mix it with ranch and make a creamy dressing for salads. 

Herb rubbed Pork

Katrina found this recipe on pinterest somewhere. She sent it to me. Best tenderloin ever!! 1 lb pork loin or tenderloin 1/4 c brown sugar 1 T thyme 1 t garlic powder 1 t pepper 1 t salt 1 t sage 1 t rosemary Combine and rub onto the pork until completely coated. Place on a parchment cookie sheet. Bake at 500 for 10 min and then lower to 350 until the center reaches 145. I cooked 1 tenderloin at 400 for about 20 minutes and it came out perfect!

Skillet lasagna

I didn't have the ingredients for the sauce but it looks delicious. I just made my usual go to marinara. Tomato sauce with Italian seasoning and brown sugar. It was delicious!! We love lasagna but I hate layering it and making a huge pan for just the 3 of us. This was a great alt.

Recipe from Mel's kitchen Cafe

INGREDIENTS:
3 (14.5 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
Salt
3 medium garlic cloves, finely minced
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes (these do not add spice – just flavor!)
1 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
1/2 pound ground pork
1/2 pound ground beef (I used 80% lean)
12 curly-edged lasagna noodles, broken into 1 inch lengths
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup ricotta cheese (do not use fat-free)

Pulse the tomatoes with their juice in a blender or food processor until they are coarsely ground and no large pieces remain (in a food processor, that is about 12 pulses0.

Heat the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring often, until the onion is softened and translucent, about 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the ground meat and cook, breaking apart the meat, until it is lightly browned and no longer pink, 5 to 6 minutes.

Scatter the broken lasagna noodles over the meat and then pour in the ground tomatoes and tomato sauce over the pasta. Stir in the basil and oregano. Cover, increase the heat to medium-high, and cook, stirring often and adjusting the heat to maintain a vigorous simmer, until the pasta is tender, about 20 minutes.

Off the heat, stir in half the mozzarella and half of the parmesan. Dot heaping tablespoons of the ricotta over the noodles, then sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and parmesan. Cover and let stand off the heat until the cheese melts, 2 to 4 minutes. Serve.

Pizza crust

This is super delicious crust! It's
Originally set for thin crust pizza and will make 2 thin large but I rolled
Mine out thicker. It cooked on the long side and was yum!!

America's test kitchen 2012 cookbook

3 c (16.5 oz) bread flour
2 t sugar
1/2 t instant yeast
1 1/3 c ice water
1 T veg oil
1 1/2 t salt

In a food processor: blend flour, sugar, and yeast. With machine running add water, salt and oil. Process until dough forms a sticky ball. Remove dough and knead on a lightly oiled counter until smooth. Place in lightly oiled bowl cover with plastic and refrigerate for 24 hrs or up to 3 days.

To bake: remove dough from fridge let rest for 1 hour.
Bake pizza on a stone at 500 degree for 10-20 min

My changes: I don't have a food processor so I did this in a Bosch. I only have active dry yeast so I mixed the sugar , yeast and 1/2 c warm water ( from the 1 1/2 c cold) to sponge. Then I mixed everything together until it made a dough.
Then followed original directions for resting, shaping, and baking.

Ranch chicken enchiladas

I was hesitant to make these but gave them a try. They were super yum! Here's the link: http://www.therecipecritic.com/2012/12/ranch-chicken-enchiladas.html?m=1

I changed the recipe not on purpose tho, I didn't realize she does it in the crockpot. I didn't have time for that. I'm sure the original is delicious. Cooking it in a crock pot is a good idea. Mine were super seasoned. Hubby LOVED it. I think I would enjoy it a touch more mild.

3 chicken breasts cooked and shredded
1/2 pkt taco seasoning
1/2 pkt ranch seasoning
3/4 c ranch, divided
3/4 c salsa, divided
Cheese shredded

Bake at 350*
Mix shredded chicken, seasonings, 1/4 c ranch 1/4 c salsa together and let hang out. I left mine for 30 min but its not necessary.
Wrap chicken up with some cheese. Put in a greased 9x13. Mix 1/2 c salsa and 1/2 c ranch pour on top. Add more shredded cheese and bake for 30 min.
Delicious!!

Mexican Lasagna

1 lb chicken, cooked, shredded 1 (16oz) sour cream 1 can black beans, rinsed, drained 1 1/2 c green salsa 1 1/2 c frozen corn 1 t garlic pwd 1 t cumin 1 t chili pwd 1 t salt chopped cilantro squeeze fresh lime juice flour tortillas 1 (8oz) mexican cheese, shredded Preheat to 350* Mix all ingredients together except cheese and tortillas. Cut flour tortillas in half and in a 9x13 spread 1/3 of mixture in pan. Place a layer of tortillas on top. Sprinkle with some cheese. continue layering using all ingredients and ending with cheese. Bake for 20-30 minutes. Until cheese is bubbly. Serve with Salsa, Sour Cream, additional cilantro etc.

Chicken fried steak

Cube steak for each person
Flour seasoned with s&p
Egg mixed with splash of milk & splash of hot sauce
Crushed up corn flakes mixed with onion pwd, garlic pwd, s&p

Dredge the cube steaks in seasoned flour. Dip in egg wash, finally coat in seasoned corn flakes.
Spray a baking sheet lined with a rack with grease and lay steaks on it. Bake at 400 for 15-20 min. *i flipped mine part way so both sides could thoroughly be crispy.

For my family of 3-
Gravy:
1/2 can Beef broth
1 Chicken bullion, straight up or use a flavor enhancer
1 c Half & half
Cornstarch slurry
Onion pwd
Garlic pwd
S&p

Boil beef broth and bullion. Add cornstarch slurry to thicken. Season and Add in half and half and simmer.

Serve with mash potatoes.

Cashew Chicken

I got this recipe from my friend Mel.  After we moved away I really craved her Cashew Chicken.

Cashew Chicken

1- 2 chicken breasts 

1 can chicken broth

2 tablespoons soy sauce 

1 tablespoon corn starch

¼ cup sugar

Marinate the chicken in all of the above ingredients for a few hours. 

1 cup chopped carrots (approx.) 

1 cup celery

1 package brown gravy mix 

Cashews

Cook carrots and celery in butter. It will take about 10-15 minutes for them to get tender. Stir occasionally. While those are cooking, cut up your chicken breast. SAVE THE MARINADE. Cook chicken until done. Just move the veggies to one side and cook the chicken on the other. Once everything is cooked, pour in your marinade and add the package of brown gravy. Let it all cook and simmer together until the sauce becomes thick. Stir in cashews.  Serve over rice.