Just Add Butter: Recipe 9

There are a few times that I am truly impressed with what I turn out of the kitchen for dinner.  Last night’s meal was one of them!  These chicken Parmesan stuffed manicotti are for sure one of my raving successes.  The recipe makes enough for about six manicotti shells.  Coach Husband scarfed sown three at dinner last night and ate the leftover two today for lunch after church today.  The recipe calls for cooked shredded chicken and thanks to Rebecca that didn’t derail my plans at all!  I’ve started purchasing a whole chicken while grocery shopping and throwing it in the crock-pot when I get home from the grocery store.  Seasoned with some rosemary, thyme and filled with plenty of water the bird cooks all day and provides me with enough chicken for at least two meals and a couple of lunches!  It’s also been a huge money saver on the grocery budget and has no cleanup.  Double win in my book. 

On to the manicotti.

Stuffed Manicotti

Manicotti Shells

1 cup shredded chicken

1 egg

½ cup ricotta cheese

Parmesan cheese

Oregano

pepper

Can Italian style tomatoes

Chopped basil leaves

Cook shells until done & drain.  Handle with care so they don’t tear!

Mix shredded chicken, egg, ricotta cheese, ½ cup Parmesan & a few shakes of oregano in a bowl.  

Stuff shells with chicken mixture gently & place in a greased baking dish.

In a small saucepan heat Italian style tomatoes, 2 tablespoons Parmesan and chopped basil leaves.

Bring to boil and then reduce heat and allow to simmer until heated through.

Spoon sauce over shells & sprinkle with more Parmesan and whole basil leaves

Place in an oven (pre-heated to 350) and bake for 25-30 minutes.

I loved how quick this was to make and how filling!  Served alongside a salad and French bread it was the perfect dinner on a cold, rainy Saturday night.

Happy Eating,

Just Add Butter: Recipe 8

These ham & cheese roll-ups were a Pintrest inspiration with a twist to make it more appetizing for us.  Coach Husband was an immediate fan and has asked for them multiple times since.  They’re quick, relatively effortless and quite filling.  I think they would be a great party appetizer but we had them for dinner alongside some steamed broccoli and carrots.

Cheesy Ham Roll-Ups

Refrigerated Pizza Crust

½-3.4 lb. deli ham thinly sliced

12 slices of Swiss cheese

1-tablespoon honey mustard (it can also me made with Dijon mustard...just not really our thing)

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce

½ cup butter

Roll our pizza dough on a cutting board, forming a square

Top with thin slices of ham & cheese slices

Here is the fun part!  Tightly roll the ingredients into a long tube.

Cut the tube into sections (think cinnamon rolls)  You should be able to create about 12 sections. 

Arrange the sections in a 9X13 greased baking dish

In a saucepan melt butter, brown sugar, mustard & Worcestershire sauce

Whisk until the sauce is smooth and then pour over the roll ups

Bake in the oven on 325 degrees for about 25 minutes.

So yum!

Eating In: Week One in Review

Week One of eating in was a success!  We're ten days in and while this weekend was incredibly difficult to resist the temptation of a McAllister's Ham & Cheese Toastie we held firm and have already seen a dramatic impact to our bank account.

This week's menu...

Sunday: Chicken Parmesan--salad--bread
Monday: Pork Loin--Purple Hull peas--buttered noodles
Tuesday: Crockpot Ravioli
Wednesday: Chicken Rice & Broccoli
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Chili
Saturday: Leftovers



We deviated slightly from the menu when we evaluated the leftover situation on Wednesday evening!


A sweet friend requested I blog the recipes each week!  I thought of taking pictures of the finished products but obviously that did not happen.

Chicken Parmesan

bread crumbs
chicken breasts
spaghetti sauce
Parmesan cheese
egg wash
spaghetti noodles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Dip chicken breasts in egg wash and bread with a mixture of bread crumbs and cheese
Pan simmer on both sides until bread crusts
Lay chicken flat in greased glass pan & top with spaghetti sauce
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes
Cook spaghetti noodles and add sauce
Sprinkle cheese on top of chicken and melt
Top spaghetti noodles with chicken and serve



Pork Loin: we buy the preseason pork loin from Sam's.  We can divide in half and freeze.  Simply follow the directions on the package.  (This was Coach Husband's night to cook for the week).  We cooked homegrown purple hull peas from my Papwaw's garden and it was delish.

Crockpot Ravioli

1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 onion chopped
1 clove garlic minced
15 oz tomato sauce
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp Italian seasoning
10 oz spinach
16 oz bow-tie pasta
1 1/2 cup mozzarella

Brown beef with garlic and onion
Place beef & sauce in crock-pot.  Add tomatoes and seasonings.
Cook 6-7 hours on low.
Add spinach, cooked pasta and cheese.
Cook 30 more minutes on high.
Top with cheese & serve

Personal note: next time I will be adding more tomato sauce than the recipe calls for, it wasn't enough for our family but made a TON of leftovers


Chicken Rice & Broccoli

1 tbsp oil
1 can creak of chicken soup
4 chicken breasts
1 1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups broccoli
1/4 tsp paprika
1 1/2 cup uncooked brown rice

Heat oil in 10 inch skillet over medium-high heat.
Add chicken and cook until browned on both sides.
Remove from skillet
Stir soup, water and seasoning into skillet.  Heat to a boil.
Stir in rice and broccoli.
Reduce heat to low and return chicken to the skillet.
Sprinkle paprika and black pepper.
Cover and cook until rice is tender.

Coach Husband loved this dish.  I loved that is was all in one pan for easy clean up and included a starch, protein and veggie all together.  The recipe said it was 5 minute prep time and 20 minute cook time but that was a lie.  My chicken took longer than expected to brown and the total time was more like 35-40 minutes.


Chili

We use the McCormick seasoning packet and follow the directions.  With a side of Velveeta/Rotel cheese dip it was a good night at our house.



Week one was a success.  With work picking up this week I am sure it will be difficult to resist the urge to run out for dinner so keep us in your prayers!  Wednesday CH & I both have late meetings and will need extra prayers around 6:15 when we finally make it home and have to cook.

Breakfast for the Overachiever

I love lists.  As in, ADORE lists.  And I tend to make a list for everything in my life.  To-do lists, grocery lists, life lists, future lists, pro-con lists, idea lists...you get the idea.  I get quite ambitious with my lists and tend to bite off more than I can chew.  Coach Husband is constantly rolling his eyes or huffing & puffing about my crazy lists.

Most every night before I go to sleep I make a list of what I need to accomplish then next day & then color-code the list by morning, day or night time activity.  Most mornings I am up by 5:30 for my devotional (right now I am finishing up a Study of Ruth...fabulous!), one-two household chores & finally to get ready for work.  I am terrible about fitting breakfast into my mornings.  If something has to be sacrificed normally that's what goes.  Having a husband that is anal intentional about eating well & staying in shape I always feel a tad bit guilty.

Morning duty is a part of being a teacher, especially a kindergarten teacher.  Every morning from 7:25-7:55 I sit outside my classroom to help my students make good choices sitting outside the room.  It's the perfect to time for breakfast and normally the time my stomach starts to grumble.  I am not big on muffins or sugary filled breakfast...I want my calories to count!!  So I was paroozing Pintrest one day had had some inspiration from quite a few different places to introduce my version of a Breakfast On the Go.

Over-Achiever Breakfast on the Go

18 XL Eggs

18 Whole Wheat English Muffins

Bacon

Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Butter

Salt

Pepper

1. Grease a muffin tin with cooking spray & crack one egg into each tin.
   
   
   
   2. Salt & peeper each individual egg to your preference.  Pop in the oven at 350 degrees.  Cook until you can insert a knife/toothpick int the center of the egg & it comes out cleanly.  
   
   
   
   3. Split the English Muffins & butter each side.  Slip them onto a baking tin and toast in the oven to your liking. 
   
   
   4. Cook your bacon!  Being a Southern lady I only cook mine in a skillet...Coach Husband is a firm believer in nuking the pig.  We're working on him.  
   
   
   5. Cut 18 rectangles of aluminum foil.  On each foil put an open English Muffin.  Place your bacon on the bottom English Muffin, an egg next & finally top with shredded cheese.  (Secret: I hate dairy, BUT this is the perfect way for me to slip some in without actually tasting it).  
   
   
   
   
   
   6. Pop the top part of the English Muffin on top and wrap in tin-foil.  Place in a Zip-lock bag and toss in the freezer! 
   
   
   
   The night before eating simply de-frost a sandwich in the fridge...the next morning microwave it in the morning, put it back in the bag and its perfect portable.  
   I make between 15-20 at a time and have a month's worth of work-week breakfasts on hand.  It's a quick 30 minute assembly on a Sunday afternoon that ensure THIS over-achiever isn't sacrificing heath for checking things off a list.