Turkey and Dressing - for Halloween!

It's after 5 PM and you just got home and you want a quick meal before the Trick or Treaters start ringing your doorbell - What to do? If you have these ingredients in the pantry and the fridge you can have a fantastic meal in thirty minutes! Rachael Ray would be PROUD! Here's what you'll need:

Turkey breast Cutlets
Stuffing mix
Whole berry cranberry sauce
Applesauce
flour
salt and pepper to taste
Canola oil

Salt and Pepper cutlets. Dredge in flour. Heat 1-2 Tablespoons of Canola oil in a large frying pan. Place the floured cutlets in hot oil and brown on both sides.

Next, open the cranberry sauce and add approximately 1 cup of applesauce to it. Stir together and warm over low heat. While this is heating, prepare the Stuffing mix according to the package directions.

Remember those Bolillo rolls from our pizza the other night? I had a couple of those left, so I sliced them in half, buttered them, sprinkled some garlic powder and Parmesan cheese on them and stuck in the oven at 400 degrees until they were brown.

The turkey is ready...

And here is the finished product!

Plated up...

I managed to cook all of this with one hand while taking pictures with the other! Larry isn't the only one that thinks I'm crazy! To think, before I started this blog I used to just cook, never giving any thought to whether that would look better setting over here or over there...

Individual French Bread Pizzas

Want something simple to fix for supper tonight? Here's a quick idea. You will need:

White Bolillo rolls (in the bakery section @ Walmart)
1 jar Ragu Pizza sauce (enough to make 5 rolls=10 pizzas)
Parmesan Cheese
Pepperoni
Mozarella Cheese


Line a cookie sheet with foil. Cut the rolls in half, and arrange on the cookie sheet.

Using a tablespoon, put sauce on the roll. I use the back of the spoon to spread the sauce evenly.

Next I sprinkle a bit of Parmesan cheese on.

Pepperoni is next, followed by the Mozarella cheese.

Bake at 400 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes, until the cheese is brown and bubbly.
You could use whatever toppings you like. This would be a fun meal to get the children involved! Let them build their own pizza.

Baked Chicken Breast

My Mom shared this recipe with me and it is one of my favorites! It is NOT diet food - very rich, but filling. I make a big pot of rice and a veggie and dinner is served.

Baked Chicken Breast
6 Boneless, skinless chicken breast (thawed)
6 slices bacon (not cooked)
1 package dried beef (I use the jar of Armour brand - usually by the tuna at Walmart)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cups sour cream
8 ounce cream cheese
pepper to taste

Pepper chicken breast (do NOT salt - the dried beef and bacon will take care of that for you). Wrap bacon around each breast. Place a layer of dried beef in the bottom of a 9X13 baking dish. Place chicken breasts on top. In a saucepan, mix soup, sour cream and cream cheese together. Pour over the top and cover with foil. Bake at 325 degrees for 2 hours. Remove foil and brown. Serve over rice.

Sorry, no pictures - I didn't have time to cook last night!

Soup's On!

When the weather gets cooler, Larry and I really enjoy a big pot of soup. It's so nice to come home to some comfort food when you've had a long hard day. This recipe works well for us, because it doesn't take long, and we get at least two meals from it. Fast and Cheap - that's our motto! If you have ever ordered the Pasta e Fagioli from Olive Garden this soup is very similar. We have lovingly named it:

"Garlic Soup"

2 pounds lean Ground Beef

1-2 Tablespoon(s) minced garlic

2 15.5 ounce cans Hunt's diced tomatoes with roasted garlic (can substitute green pepper & onion)

2 15.5 ounce cans Bush's pinto beans with bacon

2 32 ounce boxes Beef broth (I use the low sodium since we don't need the salt)

1 cup small shell pasta

Add the minced garlic to the ground beef (I season it with Mrs Dash and a little seasoning salt) Brown and drain.

In your soup pot, combine the tomatoes, beans and drained ground beef. Add one box of broth and bring this to a simmer, stirring occasionally. NOTE: If you are feeding a large crowd, use both boxes of broth, but I save one for tomorrow when I reheat so that both times we have it there is plenty of "juice"!

Just before serving (about 5 minutes) add the cup of dry pasta shells. You want to do this the last thing because they will soak up all the broth, and if you cook them first they get mushy - not good! Stir them in, cover and let them cook until al dente. ( I'm getting all Giada on you!)

You could easily make this in the crock pot and add the shells just before serving. I hope you'll try this - it's really good!

Side note: Larry thinks I have officially lost my mind because I am now taking pictures of our food! :)

Weekend Update

This weekend we celebrated my Mommy's 70th Birthday! We had a late lunch because I Cooked! I fixed all her favorites. Our menu included a salad, Cavatini and garlic bread and Pumpkin bars for dessert! Yummy!

What is Cavatini you ask?

WAAYY back in the day, Pizza Hut offered a pasta dish on their menu. Larry and I would treat ourselves to this on payday Fridays. I picked it apart until I came up with a "formula" of my own. Here is what I do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2 small Green Peppers, diced

1 can sliced Mushrooms (I use Green Giant)

1 Lb. mild pork sausage, browned and drained

1 pkg. Pepperoni, cut in to quarters ( I get Hormel in the pillow pack, use about half)


Combine 1 cup of each of these pasta, boil and drain

Rotini
medium shells
Penne

1 Large Jar of Prego Fresh Mushroon Spaghetti Sauce

2 jars of Ragu Pizza sauce

1 Cup shredded Parmesan Cheese

2-3 Cups shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Use a large cake pan (9x13) combine all ingredients except the cheeses. Stir until sauce completely coats the pasta. Top with Parmesan cheese and end with the Mozzarella cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese is brown and bubbly.

Feeds an army! (ok, 6 adults and 4 children!)