My husband can cook!

So for our weekly date night last week my awesome husband decided he was going to cook for us. He has a few things he has made before but wanted something new so he asked his mom for a good recipe. She gave him a recipe that she used to make for their family when he was a kid, Mexican Chicken. Its simple, delicious and makes a ton.

Mexican Chicken

• Cook and debone meat of one chicken ( I use canned chicken, 3 cans or about 15 oz.)
• Add 1 t. salt, 1/2 t. pepper, 2 T. (I used 1 T.) cumin
• Chop 1 med. onion and saute in 4 Tbs. butter
• Add 1 small can chopped green chilies, 2 cans chopped tomatoes, and 1 small can tomato sauce (instead these ingredients and sauteing onion use one jar salsa)
• 2 cans cream of mushroom soup
• Add chicken and simmer 10 minutes
• Line baking dish (9x13) with taco and cheese flavored Doritoes. 
• Pour chicken mix on chips
• Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes
• Top with 1 lb. grated cheddar cheese
• Return to oven for 5 minutes

This is the recipe from my mother in law. She says they used to do the onions and cans of tomatoes and chilies and all that until she realized it would be the same but easier if they just used a jar of salsa. So basically we just took a jar of salsa, three cans of chicken, cumin, salt and pepper mixed in a skillet and simmered for 10 minutes. Then put the chips in the bottom of a dish and covered with the salsa and chicken. Then baked and added the cheese. We ate ours with a side Tostitos chips. The leftovers were great and there was plenty. This will definitely be added to our regular list of meals!

Apple Dumplings

Time sure can get away from us doesn't it? I can't believe its been so long since my last post. We have been super busy with buying a new house, getting another dog and lots of family get-to-gethers. I haven't been cooking as much this summer but I have tried out a few new recipes.

One of my favorite fall activities is going to the apple orchard and picking apples. My sister in law and I have gone the last two years and have a great time. So I love to bake with all these extra apples. This time I made some apple dumplings with a recipe I got from my mom. Its easy and delicious.

• 4 Granny Smith apples
• 2 cans Crescent rolls
• 2 sticks butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• Can of Mountain Dew

Peel and quarter apples. Wrap one triangle of crescent rolls around each apple slice. Place in ungreased 9x13 dish. Melt butter and mix in sugar and cinnamon. Spread over rolls. Pour can of Mountain Dew around edges of dish. Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes. 

So easy and they taste like little apple pies! And what would apple pie be without vanilla ice cream?

Pork Chops

So it was back to the spice rack for this recipe and the spice chosen was rosemary. I had never made pork chops before so I thought this would be the perfect thing to make. I found a recipe because I really wasn't sure what I was doing but I wasn't wanting something sweet so I kind of did it on my own. I warmed some vegetable oil in a skillet. Then I fried some sliced onions before adding my pork chops and sprinkled them with rosemary. They were very thick bone in chops and they were delicious. I really had no idea what I was doing or how long to cook them so I probably cooked them for 30 minutes. I have a meat thermometer but it just didn't seem like it was accurate so I may have cooked them longer than needed but they came out very nice. Then I made these roasted potatoes as an excellent side dish. So while this may not have been anything too special I was pretty proud of myself for cooking something I hadn't before and for adding variety to our weekly meals. 

Happy New Year!

Well the new year is upon us (ok so we're a week in now lol) and while its been a while since I've blogged I have been cooking. Husband and I are wanting to save some money while getting healthier. In order to accomplish these we are determined to cook more at home. I have a few recipes that I have been wanting to try lately so hopefully I can keep this up.

I thought I would start my new year blogging out with something simple I made. We had tons of parties to got to in December where we brought a side dish. Our go-to dish is always deviled eggs. However, when it was my work's holiday lunch I was a little late signing up for a dish and someone else had already agreed to bring eggs. So I decided to bring another small appetizer that I've eaten but never made. They were very simple but I was nervous about how they would come out.

So these are my pickles wrapped in beef. They may seem like a weird combination but they are quite tasty. I used two jars of the small dill pickles, a thing of cream cheese and 5 packages of beef lunch meat. I took two pieces of meat folded in half. Spread a generous amount of cream cheese on the meat and roll the pickle up in the meat.  Then I cut each one into three pieces making them nice and bite size. This did make quite a few as we have an office of 50 people and I only had a few left but this could easily be adjusted to make for any number you need.

Cajun Chicken Pasta

I kind of stole the idea for this meal from one of my favorite restaurants. Its actually one of the first meals I made when I first lived on my own. It may not be super fancy but I loved feeling like I was making a nice home made meal. And the best part about this is its so easy to adjust how much you make. I used to make just one chicken breast and it was perfect just for me. Now I cook two chicken breasts for my husband and I. I usually make extra pasta too so that I have some for lunch the next day.

So I start with boneless skinless chicken breasts. I have some Cajun seasoning powder that I found at the store in the spices aisle. I put on the seasoning and then cook them on my George Foreman grill. Then I make some egg noodles and warm up some Ragu Alfredo sauce. I have never done home made Alfredo sauce so that may be something I have to try sometime. I do warm my sauce on the stove though so I feel like I'm really cooking it lol. I usually make some frozen broccoli but we were out of it tonight. It's great mixed into the pasta or eaten on the side like my husband likes it. So thats really it. Its something that husband and I really like and its nice and simple and delicious!

Creamy Baked Ziti

On my adventure to find new meals to make I found this recipe for baked ziti. I knew this was something my husband would love as its very similar to what he gets at one of our favorite restaurants. I made it according to the recipe however we both agreed it would need a little adjusting the next time we made it. We found that the sauce was a little plain. I'm going to try it again using spaghetti sauce with meat (husband said it needed  meat but ground meat is not my favorite) and try it without the cream cheese. Husband also thought it was too cheesy (I didn't think too cheesy was possible lol) so I'm going to cut down on how much cheese I use. Our plan is to perfect the recipe a bit then cook it for our friends during our up coming ski trip. Hope it turns out well.

Edit:  So I made this again and changed it a little bit. Instead of using marinara sauce, I used spaghetti sauce with meat. I also left the cream cheese out. We decided we liked this way much more. It was less cheesy and the sause had a lot more flavor. I think its ready to try out on our friends during our ski trip!

Apple Crisp

This dish was inspired by a trip to a local apple orchard with my sister in law. We are having a family get together to carve pumpkins so I wanted to use the delicious apples I got to make a dessert. I love apple crisp so I found a great recipe in my Better Home and Garden cookbook.

Fruit Crisp

• 5 cups sliced, peeled cooking apples, pears, peaches, or apricots or frozen unsweetened peach slices
• 2 to 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup regular rolled oats
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg or cinnamon
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine
• 1/4 cup chopped nuts or coconut
• Vanilla ice cream (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degree. If fruit is frozen, thaw but do not drain. Place fruit in a 2 quart square baking dish. Stir in granulated sugar. 

2. For topping, in a medium bowl combine the oats, brown sugar, flour, and nutmeg, Cut in butter until until mixture resembles course crumbs. Stir in nuts. Sprinkle topping over filling.

3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes (40 minutes for thawed fruit) or until fruit is tender and topping is golden. Cool slightly. If desired, serve warm with ice cream. 

We made this without the nuts or coconut. My wonderful husband peeled and sliced all the apples while I made the topping. We used cinnamon instead of nutmeg. Cinnamon was also the next spice we picked from our spice rack so I'm glad I finally got around to making something with it. 

Fall, football and chili

Well its that time of year. Saturday was the first Husker football game (they won of course!) and nothing goes better with football than chili. Of course there are many ways to make it but this is one that Nathan and I have enjoyed for the last few years, courtesy of an old coworker of mine.

• 2 or 3 pounds ground beef, browned and drained
• 2 packages of chili seasoning
• 1 medium green pepper, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cans chopped tomatoes
• 2 cans beans, don't drain juice
• 1 40 oz jar of V-8 juice (we just use a can of regular tomato juice)
• 1/2 to 1 tsp of chili powder

Mix all ingredients and simmer on stove or cook in crock pot for three to four hours. The longer it cooks the better it tastes. 

This recipe is nice because you can adjust it as much as you want. Nathan and I compromise on this one a lot. We use two pounds of hamburger cause I like it a little less meaty, one can of tomatoes for him and a can of chili beans and a can of kidney beans. We also added a jalapeño pepper this time to give it a little kick, although next time we might try two or three. I like to top mine with shredded cheese and some chopped onion. We just love how much chili this makes. Its perfect for having people over to watch the game or to freeze for lunches. Here's to the Huskers last season in the Big 12, hope its a great one! Go Big Red!

Cucumbers with dressing

When I was a kid, every summer my mom and grandma would make cucumbers with dressing. I loved it and always looked forward to having it. So when Nathan brought home some cucumbers from a coworker I knew what I was going to do with them. There are many ways to make it but this is the recipe I use.

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups sliced cucumbers

In a bowl, combine mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar and salt. Add cucumbers; stir to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours. 

Like most things I make, I don't worry too much about the measurements. I used two cucumbers and the amount of mayonnaise, sugar and vinegar in the recipe. I then added some more mayo cause the vinegar was a little strong.  You can change it up in many ways. You can add onions, tomatoes, or green peppers. This is such a summery, cool side that would make a great addition to any bbq or get together.

Stir-Tuesday!

This is one of the first meals we made using our new spice rack. We started doing this not long after the wedding so I have made this one a few times already. Here is my inspiration for my blog, the spice rack.

The spice I used tonight was ginger. What I made was Pepper Steak Stir-Fry. I found the recipe in All You Magazine. My mom gives them to me after she reads them and I have found a few great recipes in there. 

• 2 Tbsp. canola oil
• 1 lb. top round steak cut into strips
• Pepper
• 2 green bell peppers, seeded, chopped
• 12 scallions, white and light green parts, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger
• 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
• Cooked rice optional

Warm 1/2 Tbsp. oil in large skillet or wok over medium heat. Season steak with pepper. Add half of steak to skilled and stir-fry for 4 minutes, until just brown. Remove to a plate; tent with foil. Repeat with another 1/2 Tbsp oil and remaining steak. 

Return reserved cooked steak to skillet. Add peppers, scallions, mushrooms, garlic, ginger, soy sauce and remaining 1 Tbsp. oil to skillet. Stir-fry for 3 minutes until steak is cooked through and vegetables are lightly browned but still crisp. Serve over rice if desired.

I don't put mushrooms in since we don't like them.The recipe does call for fresh ginger and the first time I made it I actually used fresh ginger. However, using the powder ginger in our spice rack was a lot faster, easier, and I thought it tasted better. The fresh ginger was too strong. 

Then I made Fried Rice to serve with it. This recipe uses ham but I leave that out since I'm making it as a side for the Pepper Steak. I also cook the rice longer at the end then the recipe says to. I cook it for 5 or 6 minutes and I think then it tastes more like restaurant fried rice. Also, I read that it works best if the rice is cold. So I cook the rice, put it in the fridge, make the pepper steak, then make the fried rice. This is a pretty time consuming meal for me cause there is a lot of chopping but it is definitely worth it and I think my husband would agree. And he now has lunch for the next two days!

Vegetable Alfredo

This is probably one of my favorite things to make. It has so many of my favorite things. Its Alfredo with onions and red peppers and cheese. I start by boiling the pasta and chopping the onion and red pepper.Then start cooking the onion and pepper in a skillet with olive oil. Always a great start to a meal.

I use frozen broccoli instead of the vegetable melody in the recipe. I cook it in the microwave for about 3 minutes then add it to the skillet. Then add the pasta, sauce, and cheese to the skillet and cook it for a few more minutes. I'm not really a measurer when it comes to stuff like this so I'm not sure how close it was to the recipe. But we made enough for supper for the hubs and I and two bowls for lunches. It makes great leftovers.  Here is the final product!

BLT's and roasted potatoes

I love making this meal because its one of the few my husband and I make together. We have been making BLT's for a while. We decided to eat healthier and started using turkey bacon. We really can't tell a difference in the taste. Just had to get over the weird look of it before its cooked.

We usually make fried potatoes with our BLT's. But I recently tried a recipe for roasted potatoes and they are awesome. So we made those tonight with our sandwiches. I cut up some red potatoes then in a bowl mixed up 1/2 cup ranch dressing, 1/2 cup shredded cheese, and 1/4 cup Oscar Mayer real bacon pieces. I coat the potatoes in the mixture then put them in a baking dish. I cooked them at 400 degree for an hour or a little more. They are better if they cook longer. This is like the third time I have made these potatoes and I think I finally got them cooked long enough this time. They were perfect. And I am so excited to finally get to use the Corningware that we received for our wedding. Its great for these and if there are any left I have just left them in the dish and warmed them up in the oven the next day. I like to eat my potatoes with sour cream, cause well everything is better with sour cream.

Italian Chicken and Peppers (for a crowd)

So last night for supper I made Italian chicken and peppers. I think this was the second time I have made it and it is super yummy. Its a great way to spice up our usual spaghetti. Here is the recipe from the Campbell's website.

It makes a lot so I cut it down for just Nathan and I. I use two chicken breasts, two green peppers and one onion. Then I just added as much sauce as needed. This made enough for supper for the two of us and enough leftovers for two lunches. I do wish we would had gotten a loaf of fresh French bread or something to go with it. Next time that will be a must.  Here is my lunch for tomorrow.

Introduction

My name is Missy, I have been married for almost two months. I love cooking for my husband and me and finding new recipes to add to our menu. I have a few tried and true recipes that I have been making for a while but love finding new things to make.

The inspiration for this blog is the very nice spice rack we received for our wedding filled with spices, some I have never even heard of. Husband and I have decided that we would pick a spice and find a recipe to go with each one. That has turned into quite the challenge but a very fun one.  So I thought I would post our spice rack meals and other meals that we love to make and even a few new ones.