Unstuffed Pepper Soup

1 1/2 lb. ground beef ( I use ground turkey)

3 Large bell pepper ( I like to use the colored peppers)

1 onion

2- 14 oz cans of beef broth

2- 10 oz cans of tomato soup ( I used Progresso Tomato Basil)

1- 28 oz can crushed tomatoes

1 1/2 cups cooked rice ( I used brown rice )

salt, pepper, minced garlic (I used minced in jar and fresh that I pressed),

red pepper flakes to taste

In stockpot ground meat and drain. Add all seasonings to taste, bell peppers, and onion over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Stir in broth, soup, and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes (stirring occasionally). Add rice and heat through.

**received this recipe from my shower, but added some seasonings I use in my stuffed peppers.**

I also used Trader Joe's frozen colored bell peppers that are already cut into strips. I just thawed them and cut them into smaller pieces. Also from Trader Joe's I used their frozen already cooked brown rice. Heats in three minutes in the microwave...so easy and very tasty. I actually used a lot of organic ingredients, but I'm sure the taste is the same, just a little healthier.

The meal is delicious and a hit with my husband! For kids, you might want to limit the amount of the red pepper flakes.

Creamy Pasta with Chicken, Bacon, and Tomato

We just had this tonight and it was mmm, mmm, good!

3 cups (uncooked) bowtie pasta
3 chicken breasts, cubed
6 strips of bacon (cooked and crumbled)
1 can (14 oz) Italian diced tomato (undrained)
6 oz cream cheese (brick)
1/2 cup water
pepper (to taste)
grated or shredded Parmesan cheese

Cook bowtie pasta according to package.

Cook chicken over medium-high heat until cooked through. Add next five ingredients and mix together until melted and cooked well. Drain pasta and add to sauce. Top with Parm cheese and ENJOY!

I think I'd like to use more bacon, honestly.

**This is a little different version from a kraftfoods.com recipe**

Creamy Chicken Bacon with Penne Pasta

I made this last night, and it was pretty good.

3 chicken breasts
3 pieces of bacon (I used 6--as I love bacon)
2 cups (uncooked) penne pasta
1/2 cup chive onion cream cheese spread
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup cherry tomato, halved
2 green onion, diced

Wrap chicken in bacon, and cook on medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes on each side. Meanwhile, boil water and cook pasta according to directions. Remove chicken from skillet, set aside, and keep warm. Add chicken broth and cream cheese in skillet (wipe out chicken/bacon juices) and wisk until mixed and heated evenly. Add onion and tomato and cook additional two minutes. Drain pasta and add cream cheese sauce. Serve on a plate and top with chicken. Enjoy.

**This recipe is from kraftfoods.com**

Cilantro-Peanut Chicken and Rice

Pete made this dish a couple nights ago, and we really liked it. It's definitely different, but had a good flavor, and a bit of a kick (so don't make it if you don't like spicy).

Ingredients:
1/2 C chicken broth
1/2 C Italian dressing
1/2 C chopped (fresh) cilantro
1/2 C peanuts
1 serrano pepper (remove stem)
1 onion (chopped)
4 chicken breasts
2 C cooked white rice
Sour Cream

In blender combine chicken broth, 1/4 Cup Italian dressing, cilantro, peanuts, and serrano. Blend well.

In skillet, heat over medium-high heat. Add remainder of dressing (1/4 Cup) and heat. Then add onions and cook for about 5 minutes. Add chicken and cook 5-7 minutes on each side. Add in blender mix, cover, and continue to cook for additional 10 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

Serve over white rice and with sour cream. Enjoy.

**This recipe was found at kraftfoods.com**

Beer Soup

Mmm, Mmm, good!

I made this today for my Internship Class Party. Very tasty!

2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 lb shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 Cup beer
1 Cup milk
1 tsp Worchestershire Sauce
1 tsp Paprika
Popcorn as a topper

Combine all ingredients (except popcorn) and add to a crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours or high for 2 hours. Serve in bowl or bread bowl and top with popcorn, and green onion. It's SO tasty!

Oh-and the alcohol cooks out--so it is safe for those expecting and for children.

Brownies

So, yeah, brownies are easy--just a couple eggs, oil and brownie mix. I get it.

Brownies a la Amy
However, we prefer to "jazz up" our brownies by simply adding in semi-sweet chocolate chips. It gives the brownies an extra kick without using nuts (which I am not a fan of in baking). Just an idea.

Brownies a la Peter and Girls
Instead of using chocolate chips, they crushed up Keebler chocolate chip cookies and added them in.

Cream Chicken and Noodles in the CP

I made this meal today and I liked it. So did Rowena. Delaney and Kate didn't go for it much, and PJ wasn't around for dinner. It's very simple and ends up being like a cream of chicken-noodle soup. It makes a LOT so, if I were to make it again, I will cut it in half. Here is the full recipe.

2 cans cream of chicken soup
4 chicken breasts
40 oz chicken broth
1/2 cup butter (sliced)
24 oz. frozen egg noodles.

Place first four ingredients in the Crock Pot and cook on LOW for 8 hours. Remove chicken and shred, then place back in CP. Add in noodles and cook for another hour. ENJOY!

Lemon Chicken

Flour

Black Pepper

Paprika

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

Chicken Broth

1 Tbs lemon juice

On a place add paprika and pepper to flour and mix evenly. Coat chicken in the flour mixture and shake off excess. Add chicken to hot oil in pan. Cook about 3 minutes on each side. Don't overcook. Transfer chicken to a plate. Add chicken broth (1-2 cups depending on amount of chicken and lemon juice (to taste) to pan and heat ( to thicken add cornstarch -mix cornstarch with water to make a paste and add to broth and lemon juice). Pour over chicken. Serve over rice or noodles.

Roasted Chicken Tenders w/ Peppers and Onions

3 Tbs lemon juice

2 Tbs chopped garlic

2 Tbs chopped fresh oregano (1tsp if dried)

2 Tbs chopped pickled jalapeno peppers

1 Yellow, red, and orange bell peppers sliced thin

1/2 medium onion sliced thin

2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1 lb boneless skinless chicken cut into tenders

Preheat oven to 425. Whisk lemon juice, garlic, oregano, oil, and salt in a 9 x13 glass/ceramic baking dish. Add chicken, bell peppers, and onion; toss to coat. Spread mixture evenly; cover w/foil. Bake until chicken is cooked through. (25-30 minutes)

Chicken Tortellini

4 boneless chicken breasts (marinate in Italian dressing)

Italian salad dressing

1 tsp olive oil

1 package fresh tortellini (any flavor) I use the tricolor, just to add some color to the meal.

1 red and yellow bell pepper

minced garlic

Italian seasonings

shredded parmesan cheese

Thinly slice bell peppers length-wise while the olive oil is heating in frying pan. Cut chicken into bite size chunks and brown in olive oil. Remove chicken from pan and boil water for tortellini. Toss bell peppers, garlic, Italian seasonings, and 1/3 cup of Italian dressing in frying pan- add chicken to heat through. Drain tortellini and add to chicken. Top with parmesan cheese and serve.

Vodka Marinara

Not very healthy, but soooo delicious!

7 Tbs butter

3/4 c vodka (Polish or Russian)

3/4 c heavy cream

4 oz grated parmesan cheese

3/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1 large can pureed Italian tomatoes

1 tsp season salt

fresh basil leaves

1 lb of pasta (rigatoni or rigatoni hold the sauce the best)

Melt butter, stir in red pepper, and vodka (simmer 2 min). Stir in tomatoes, cream, and season salt (simmer 5 min). Lower heat and add cheese and basil leaves. Simmer a few more minutes to make sure cheese melts and is evenly mixed. Pour over cooked pasta and serve immediately.

**I store the left over sauce seperate from the noodles. I also reheat the sauce seperately from the pasta as well**

Shell Casserole

1/2 lb ground beef

1/2 lb ground pork

1 can tomato soup (progresso tomato basil is awesome in this)

1 26 oz can stewed tomatoes

1/2 lb cooked medium shells

1/2 onion chopped

1/2 green pepper chopped

mushrooms if desired

chili powder, oregano, and grated parmesan cheese to taste

Boil noodles while browning meat and drain grease. Add all other ingredients and cooked pasta together and mix well. Put mixture into a casserole dish, cover with foil, and bake at 350 for 45 minutes to an hour.

Pepper Steak

1 1/2 lbs sirloin steak cut in chunks/strips

1/2 tsp salt

1 onion chopped

1 cup beef broth

3 Tbs soy sauce

1 green pepper

minced garlic

2 Tbs cornstarch

1/2 c cold water

Salt meat and brown slightly. Push meat to one side and add onion - cook until onion is tender. Stir in broth, soy sauce, and garlic. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Add green pepper (can also add tomatoes and/or broccoli) cover and simmer 5 minutes. Blend cornstarch and water until it makes a paste and stir gradually into the meat mixture. Cook until boiling to desired thickness and serve over rice.

Beef Stew

1 1/2 lbs stew meat

2 beef bullion cubes

1 tsp salt

3 Tbs Heinz 57 sauce

2 onions

2 potatoes

baby carrots

Season meat with salt and pepper. In a stockpot brown meat in a little oil. Dissolve bullion cubes in 2 cups of hot water and add to meat. Cover and simmer 1 hour. Cut vegetables to desired size and add to meat. Stir in Heinz 57, cover, and simmer an additional hour or until vegetables are very tender. Thicken with a small amount of cornstarch and water mixture.

**cornstarch mixture: mix cornstarch and water until it is paste like. Pour it into stew and stir. Continue to add this mixture until it is to your desired thickness**

We like to serve it on top of a slice of buttered bread.

Sloppy Joes

This is a homemade sloppy joe recipe from when I was little. My husband grew up on Manwich and prefers this much better. Just as easy as the canned version! The brand of Ketchup is the key ingredient. Can be tricky to found, but I find it at Walts.

1 lb of ground beef ( I substitute all gr. beef for gr. turkey)

1/2 bottle of Brooks Thick and Tangy Ketchup

2 Tbs mustard

2 Tbs sugar

2 1/2 Tbs white vinegar

minced onion, salt, and pepper to taste

Brown and drain meat. Add all ingredients and simmer 10 minutes.

Italian Beef in a Bucket

3 1/2 - 4 lb Beef Roast, sirloin tip, or rump

1 (12-16 oz ) jar of Italian giardinera, mild or hot

1 (12-16 oz ) jar pepperoncini

1 envelope, Good Seasons zesty Italian salad dressing mix

1 (10 3/4 oz) beef broth

Place the roast in a 3 1/2 quart crock pot and mix all other ingredients together, draining oil from giardinera. (When adding giardinera and pepporcini, use half of each jar for a mild version, or all for the spicy one.) Add all ingredients to the crock pot. Cover and cook on low setting for 18 hours.

To serve, take two forks and shred the roast (after 18 hrs the meat will shred very easy) and put on Italian bread.

** I have found that using a lot of pepporcini's makes it salty, so I use just a 1/4 of the jar.**

baked garlic chicken

This is a huge favorite of mine but is messy and a little time consuming.

Marinate chicken breasts over night in:
sour cream (recipe calls for 8oz but I use 16)
1-2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1-2 tablespoons of paprika
fresh garlic cloves...or 1-2 tablespoons of chopped garlic from the jar
1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice


crush ritz crackers and roll chicken in them. Melt butter (1 stick)and drizzle over the top. You can use 4-8 chicken breasts.

Bake 1 hour on 350 (or until juices run clear)

pasta

We eat a lot of pasta in our house...some of our fav recipes are as follows:

Mostaccioli

serves: 8

brown 1lb of Italian sausage
(I prefer the sweet, but you can use mild or hot too)
1 can (16oz) stewed tomatoes
2 can (small) tomato paste
2 1/2 cups water
2 table spoons of sugar
1 table spoon of oregano
dash of salt
(recipe calls for a bay leaf, I don't use one)

Once sausage is browned combine with sauce...serve over most noodles, sprinkle with fresh Parmesan.



Alfredo

1 brick of cream cheese
1 stick of butter
1 1/2 cups of parmesan cheese
2 cups of milk
1 tsp pepper
I add 1/2 package of go go asiago dip mix from tastefully simple


Melt butter in a sauce pan over medium heat; add cream cheese. Whisk until smooth; add Asiago Dip Mix and black pepper. Gradually add milk and cheese; cook until thickened. Serve over pasta. Makes about 4 cups

Manicotti (or stuffed shells)


2 cups spaghetti sauce, divided
1-3/4 cups Ricotta Cheese
1-1/2 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1/2 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 egg, beaten
12 manicotti shells, cooked, rinsed in cold water


HEAT oven to 350°F.

SPREAD 3/4 cup sauce onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish. Mix cheeses, egg and pesto until well blended; spoon into resealable plastic bag. Use scissors to cut small corner from bottom of bag.

FILL manicotti shells by squeezing cheese mixture into both sides of each shell; place in baking dish. Top with remaining sauce; cover.

BAKE 40 min. or until heated through.

a little of this and a little of that

When it comes to cooking dinner in my house I don't follow the rules too closely. I leave some things out, add others, and guess on measurements. So when it comes to my dinner recipes feel free to add or subtract as you like.
Baking is another story...That has to be precise. You'll probably see a lot more baking recipes from me since that is my true love.

Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

Okay, so this recipe I am sharing even though Peter and I were disappointed. We're hoping to get suggestions from others as to how to improve. We're not sure if the chicken was too dry or the bread was too overwhelming, or if we were just missing something.

This is what we did:

4 chicken breasts
1 jar of your favorite hot wing sauce (we used Franks)

Cook in crockpot for 4 hours on high. Take off lid and shred chicken. Continue to cook for another 2 hours on low. The chicken will soak up the very watery crockpot.

We put the chicken on Turino rolls (used for Italian Beef) and put some blue cheese dressing on the bread, and had extra in a bowl to dip the sammie in. You can also use ranch if you are not a fan of blue cheese. We had our sandwiches with fries.

So--any suggestions on how to improve this meal? I'm really wanting to like it, and love buffalo chicken...there was just something missing here.