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Friday, February 28, 2014


Poor Man Chicken Parm.



I whipped this up a couple years ago on a night when I couldn't for the life of me think of something to make for dinner and didn't want to drive to the store. What's in the fridge and the freezer?

Chicken patties.
Pasta sauce.
Mozarella cheese.


$10 for a meal of 4 and the kids will love it and GET FULL? Yep.

Needs:
Oil. Chicken patties. Tomato pasta sauce. 8oz shredded mozarella cheese (or parm, or your choice).













1. Fry the chicken patties in a pan with about 3-4 Tbsp of oil (enough to cover the pan you're using) for about 10-12 minutes (I do this to make them a little crunchy.

2. Take the patties out of pan and place in a 13x9 glass baking dish (greased).

3. Drop 2-3 Tbsp of sauce per patty.

4. Cover all patties evenly with mozarella cheese.

Bake in oven at 375, for 10 minutes.w
Serve hot.
BOOYAH......





Sunday, February 9, 2014

Chicken Enchiladas in a Peppery White Cream Sauce

When I think of enchiladas, I typically think of a red or green sauce, beef and lots of cheddar cheese.  Well these enchiladas are not any of that.  At all.
These are instead made with shredded, rotisserie chicken and the sauce is a velvety, pepper jack blend of deliciousness.  They're not hard to make and the results will make your family very, very happy.  They reheat perfectly, and I'd strongly recommend doubling the recipe for weekday lunch leftovers.
Here's what I do:

4 T. butter  (divided use)
1/4 c. all purpose flour
2-1/2 c. chicken broth
4 oz. can diced green chilies
1 large jalapeno, seeded, and finely diced
1 shallot, minced
6 oz sour cream (don't use fat free)
2 c. shredded cooked chicken
6 oz. pepper jack cheese
6 flour tortillas (8 inch size)
6 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
3 slices bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled (optional)

In a large saucepan, melt  2 T. butter, saute jalapeno & shallot until very tender.  Stir in green chilies.  Add 2T. butter to pan (with jalapeno /shallot) and stir in flour to mix well.  Slowly add broth while stirring to combine mixture. Bring to a boil and stir for 2 min. or until thickened. Add pepper jack and stir until smooth.  Remove from heat and add sour cream.  Mix well.  This is the sauce.  You can salt & pepper to taste, but I find the broth is salty enough, usually and with the jalapeno, pepper may not be necessary either.  Your choice.

In a bowl combine chicken with cheddar & bacon, if desired.  Spoon 1/2 c. or so chicken mixture into tortilla and roll up.  Place seam side down in a 9x13 in. baking dish.  Repeat until gone.

                                                                   (pic before baking)

Carefully pour sauce over all and bake at 350 degrees F for about 35 minutes or until golden on top.

These are wonderful served with Spanish rice and pinto beans, but also fare beautifully with a garden fresh green salad.


Tuesday, February 4, 2014



Steak & Potato Breakfast Bowl

What to do with left overs?




     My oldest son Tony, is now 18 and seems to be out and about more often these days. I suppose giving him my old car, having a job and going to college allows him some freedom once in a while. But what that does at dinner time, throws me off during the week. He wants to go hang out with his friends, and here I have a meal of four ready to be made - my OCD kills me...what am I going to do with that fourth portion (I have a family of four)?
     Well last weekend we were prepped for four New York steaks and four fat potatoes - and he wanted to go out with his best bud. I had no argument this time as I thought - hmmm, how about a steak bowl for breakfast with his chow. Done. And oh my goodness....

I cut up one potato into slices, then cut them up into little cubes.
Fried em up in some oil, added some Lawry's, garlic salt and some pepper.
Divided into four and put em aside.

I cut up the steak into little cubes, threw em around in a pan to heat them up, put aside.

I scrambled up eight eggs, and added a colby/jack mix of shredded cheese.




Layered as follows:

Bottom of bowl = fried potato cubes.
Mid bowl = scrambled eggs and cheese.
Top it off with the steak.
You could, of course, top that with some salsa, guacamole or sour cream ( I did not ).











My kids (as well as myself) - thought it was "Beast" (awesome!).

It's the simple things in life......


Excuse the pics, they are rather crap-a-doodle.


-Ry