recipe round-up

It's been awhile since I've done a recipe post, huh?  Honestly, between moving, doing my long-term sub job, the holiday weekend, and wrapping up the school year, I've been cooking a lot of the old stand-bys, we've been eating out more than usual, and sometimes we just live off the land (that one is kind of scary).  However, I have been cooking up some dinners that are somewhat exciting, so here they are!

Chicken Tex Mex

Here's the recipe

This dish is VERY easy to make, and it is also healthy healthy healthy!  The chicken stays nice and moist, and the sauce goes great with rice.  I like to serve it up with corn because corn is my go to side dish for Mexican food.

White Bean Turkey Chili

I found the recipe here

I've made this chili a time or seven, and it always turns out great!  The original recipe calls for chicken, but I like to use turkey because it gives us a break from chicken and it's a lot easier to brown some turk turk than to mess with raw chickies.

Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole with Roasted Asparagus

I found the recipe here

I made this casserole the week that we moved, so please excuse the paper plate (all of my pretty plates were in Boxville, USA).  This casserole was yummm.  I think the original recipe calls for celery, but I decided to use zucchini instead because that's what I always do when celery is involved.  It is definitely rich, but I can see it being great for a big family dinner or something.  It took Austin and me awhile to eat it all! 

Tilapia in Lemon-Butter Garlic Sauce

Click here for the recipe

I love cooking fish because it always seems to come together so fast!  This recipe wasn't too difficult, and I ended up really liking the sauce.  It's rich and creamy, but that works really well with the light fish.  The original recipe calls for grouper, but I used tilapia.  When I went to buy the fish, I asked the butcher which one he preferred and if they tasted similar, and he said that they tasted a lot alike but that he liked tilapia better.  Tilapia is it!  Oh, and that rice on the plate is just a box thang...it was good!  Way to go Uncle Benny!

Crock Pot Pulled Pork Sliders

Get the recipe here

When I went to the store to get my groceries the week that I made this pulled pork, they were out of regular sized wheat buns.  Booooo.  However, the lack of normal buns meant that I got to buy these cute little baby buns!  I think the baby buns made this pulled pork taste even better than the first time I made it, if that's even possible.  3 cheers for baby buns!  I love this recipe...it takes about 5 minutes to throw in the crockpot, and then 8 hours later you have mountains of pulled pork!  I served these little cuties with some corn and roasted zucchini.  

Chicken Parmesan Rollatini

Try the recipe by clicking this

I've made this dish before, and it was "the best thing I've ever made" according to Austin.  Naturally, I whipped it up for us again.  However, I was in a little bit of a time crunch this time around, so I didn't mess with the whole "rollatini" thing.  It tasted pretty much the same sans rolling, but I think the rolls looked a lot prettier.  Oh well.  Next time I will roll again.

Taco Soup

Here's the recipe for this delicious soup!

Ingredients:

1 lb lean beef, browned and drained

1 can of corn

1 small can chopped green chilies

2 cans stewed tomatoes

1 can of black beans

2 cans of pinto beans

1 packet of taco seasoning 

1 packet of ranch dressing mix

3 tbsp chili powder

12 oz of water

Instructions:

-Begin by browning the meat until completely brown; drain and empty into a large pot.

-Add the vegetables/beans into the pot with the meat one at a time

-Once adding in all of the veggies, mix in the taco seasoning, chili powder and ranch dressing mix.

-Depending on the amount being made, it is optional to add a vegetable can sized amount of water. 

-Once adding all of the ingredients together let the soup simmer on the stove until it is time to serve. 

This soup is the bomb.  It is SO easy, and it tastes delicious.  I loved adding the avocado to it and dunking in crispy tortilla chips.  It was almost like eating a dip for dinner, and that is definitely something I can get on board with.

Linguine with Pesto Chicken and Spring Vegetables

Click here for the recipe

I cheated on this recipe.  I did not make my own pesto.  Instead, I just used some from a jar.  This still tasted ridiculous though, and I could not stop eating!  I really liked the thick linguine, and the asparagus was so crispy and tender.  Definitely something I will make again.

Stuffed Peppers

Here's the recipe

These turned out delicious (so I'm told).  I'm not a big fan of peppers, but Austin said they were great!  I did love the filling though!

How Austin eats his peppers

How I eat my peppers (subtract peppers, add tortillas and cheese)

Pasta with Marinara and Parmesan Chicken

I kind of created this recipe as I cooked.  Basically, I had some leftover chicken from when I made the Parmesan Chicken Rollatini, so I cooked that up and then sprinkled it over some pasta with marinara from a jar.  This recipe is being featured in next month's Gourmet Magazine (not) haha.

Central Market Chipotle Lime Chicken with Roasted Corn and Rice

I love living right across the street from Central Market.  The other night we were hungry and short on time, so we stopped by and found this yummy chicken.  All I did was stick it in a 350 degree oven for about 35 minutes, and bam!  For the corn I just rubbed on some olive oil, salt, and pepper and stuck it in a 350 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes.  The rice is from a box.  Easy, healthy dinner!

Minestrone Soup

Recipe!

 I made this soup earlier this week when is was raining and gloomy outside.  I loved it!  It was so nice to make something that didn't contain butter or cream or anything that's super unhealthy.  There's a little bit of olive oil, and the rest is all veggies!  I added in some ground lean beef so that Austin wouldn't feel like a girly man, and it turned out great.  I'll be making this again for sure!