Garden Veggie Burritos

This recipe originally started from the zero point Garden Vegetable Soup from Weight Watchers many years ago. It eventually transformed into a veggie burrito that I absolutely love! I hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as I do.

Ingredients

2/3 cup sliced carrot

1/2 cup diced onion

2 cloves garlic

3 cups broth (beef, chicken or vegetable)

1 1/2 cup broccoli florets

1 Tbsp tomato paste

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup of rice

Salsa (to taste)

Shredded cheddar cheese

Tortillas

Directions

In a large pot, saute carrot, onion and garlic over low heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add broth, broccoli, tomato paste, basil, oregano, and salt. Bring to a boil.

Lower heat and simmer, covered about 15 minutes. Add rice and recover. Once rice has absorbed all the liquid remove from burner and let stand for 5 minutes. Mix well.

Spoon desired portion onto a tortilla, add salsa and cheese and either roll, or fold in half like a soft taco and you are ready to chow down!

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Pan-roasted Chicken with Lemon-Garlic Green Beans

I've been going back on forth on whether or not to even post this recipe. I really didn't like it and neither did the little man. My husband liked it of course, but he likes everything that I make and will eat about anything anyway. I finally decided to actually post it as even though I didn't like it, someone else might. I found the recipe here.

Ingredients

6 Tbsp olive oil

2 lemons (1 thinly sliced, 1 juiced)

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

3/4 lb trimmed green beans

8 small red potatoes, quartered

4 chicken breasts (bones left in, with skin, about 3 1/4lbs) **Authors note - I used boneless skinless chicken breasts and that might be why I didn't like it.**

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Coat a large baking dish or cast-iron skillet with 1 Tbsp of olive oil. Arrange the lemon slices in a single layer in the bottom of the dish or skillet.

In a large bowl, combine the remaining oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper; add the green beans and toss to coat. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, remove the green beans and arrange them on top of the lemon slices. Add the potatoes to the same olive-oil mixture and toss to coat. Using a slotted sppon or tongs, arrange the potatoes along the inside edge of the dish or skillet on top of the green beans. Place the chicken in the same bowl with the olive-oil mixture and  coat thoroughly.  Place the chicken, skin-side up, in the dish or skillet. pour any of the remaining olive-oil mixture over the chicken.

Roast for 50 minutes. Remove the chicken from the dish or skillet. Place the beans and potatoes back in oven for 10 minutes more or until the potatoes are tender. Serve warm.

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Slow Cooker Ranch Pork Chops

My boys love pork chops where as I don't so since I don't make it all that often, I'm always looking for new recipes to try. Because of that, I was very happy when I stumbled across this slow cooker recipe at livinglaughingandloving.com. It was really hot and using my oven when it's hot is not something I like to do unless I have too. Unfortunately, only my husband liked this recipe. The little man didn't like it at all and requested that I never make it again. That made me very sad, but since my husband loved it, I figured I would post the recipe for all you.

Ingredients

Pork Chops

Hidden Valley Ranch Packet

1 can of Cream of Chicken plus 1 can of water or 2 cans of Cream of Chicken

Directions

Combine all three ingredients in the crock pot and mix well. Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours. 

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Slow Cooker Taco Chicken Bowls

 I love love love using my crock pot. You just throw stuff in and forget about it. It doesn't heat up your house, and the delicious smells...mmm... I wasn't sure how this recipe would turn out but it was fantastic. My husband loved it. I found this recipe here.

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs of chicken breast

1 16oz jar salsa

1 15oz can black beans

1/2lb (8oz) frozen corn

1 Tbsp chili powder

1/2 Tbsp cumin

1/2 Tbsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp cayenne

1/4 tsp salt

crack pepper, to taste

2 cups dry rice

8 oz shredded cheddar

Directions

Add everything except the cheese, and rice to the slow cooker along with 1/4 cup of water. Give everything a good stir and make sure the chicken is covered. Secure lid and cook on low for 8 hours.

Near the end of the cooking time, cook the two cups of rice according to package directions.

After the 8 hours of cooking, carefully remove the lid of the slow cooker. Shred the chicken with a fork. Build the chicken bowls by putting rice on the bottom, the chicken mix and then the shredded cheese.

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Meatballs

I actually made this recipe in June but never got around to posting it. I honestly wasn't that impressed with this Meatball recipe. In fact, I was pretty disappointed with it especially since I found it on the Johnsonville website here. My son loved it of course and my husband thinks it was just fine. I think it was just too bland for me. I prefer a lot more flavor. I will continue looking for a good meatball recipe and if any of you have any great meatball recipes that you would like to share that would be fantastic!

Ingredients

1 package Ground Mild Italian Sausage

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/3 cup dry bread crumbs

1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup onion, finely chopped

Directions

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine the egg, bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, milk and onion.

Remove sausage from casings.

Add Sausage to the bread crumb mixture and mix well.

Shape into roughly 20 meatballs; arrange on a shallow baking pan.

Bake for 20 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through. (160 degrees F)

Serve with your favorite sauce and spaghetti.

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Vegetarian Black Bean Enchiladas

I'm always looking for something new to make and now with the kiddo back home from the grandparents house, it's time to start up the old blog again with my wandering need to find and try new recipes.

I came across this recipe via pinterest. (If you aren't a member of pinterest, you need to join...it's amazing and well...very addicting...) Technically, we aren't vegetarians. However, since meat is generally expensive I wanted to try find some dishes I could make besides pasta that would taste good. Let me tell you, this tasted fantastic and the boy child asked if we could have the leftovers for dinner today. Credit needs to go to canyoustayfordinner.com as she was the original person to post this.

Ingredients

12, 6" flour tortillas

2 cups cooked brown rice

1 15oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 16oz bag frozen bell pepper strips, cooked and drained

1 packet taco seasoning

2 1/4 cups medium salsa, divided

1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9x13" baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and spread 1/2 cup of salsa over the bottom. (I honestly didn't think it spread to well, so I added more than a 1/2 cup) Lay your tortillas out on a clean work surface.

In a large bowl, mix the rice, beans, peppers, taco seasoning, and 3/4 cup salsa. (Again, I didn't think it was enough so I added a little bit more). Divide evenly among the tortillas. Roll each tortilla tightly and place seam side down in the prepared baking dish. you may have to place some of the filled tortillas horizontally or in another 8x8 pan to make them fit. Pour the remaining 1 cup salsa evenly over the tops of the rolled tortillas in the baking dish. (Again, I really didn't think that was enough...I ended up using 1 1/2 bottles of salsa total for both the filling and to cover the filled tortillas.) Sprinkle the cheese over the top. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until the cheese has melted. Serve with hot sauce and sour cream.

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Pretzel Bites

I know it has been awhile since I wrote a blog post. June has been a crazy busy month, and with the little man off at the Grandparent's house for the month, I just haven't done much as far as cooking goes. Everybody loves pretzels right? I know I do. This recipe even though slightly involved, is ahhhmazzzzing!

Ingredients

For the dough:

1 1/2 cups warm water (110-115F)

1 Tbsp sugar

2 tsp kosher salt

2 1/4 tsp instant yeast

22 oz all-purpose flour (about 4 1/2 cups)

4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Vegetable oil, for greasing bowl

For Finishing:

Cooking Spray

10 Cups water

2/3 cup baking soda

1 egg yolk beaten with 1 Tbsp water

Pretzel (or kosher) salt

Directions

To make the dough, combine the water, sugar, salt and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed to dissolve the yeast. Add in the flour and melted butter and mix just until the dough comes together. Switch to the dough hook and knead on medium speed until the dough i smooth and clears the sides of the bowl, about 5 minutes. Transfer the dough to a bowl lightly greased with vegetable oil, turning once to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place, about 50-55 minutes or until doubled in bulk. 

Preheat the oven to 450F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and spray lightly with cooking spray. Bring the water and baking soda to a boil in a large saucepan or stockpot. In the meantime, divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. Working with one piece at a time, roll a segment out into a 24-inch long rope. Cut the rope into 1 to 2 inch pieces. Place onto the parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.

Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 or 2 at a time, for 30 seconds. Remove from the water with a slotted skimmer and return to the baking sheet. Once all the pretzels have been boiled, brush the tops with the egg wash and sprinkle lightly with salt. Bake in the preheated oven until dark golden brown, about 12-14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

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