Chicken Cordon Blue

so it's been AGES since I posted on here last, but never fear I have returned! I am sure you all noticed right? ;) 


I tried this recipe tonight and LOVED it and for those of you who might care it is Weight Watchers approved! :) BONUS!! 


Ingredients:

	1 pound uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, four 4-oz pieces
	1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground, divided
	1/4 tsp table salt
	1 oz deli ham, very thinly sliced
	2 oz low-fat Swiss cheese, thinly sliced
	1/3 cup dried bread crumbs, plain-variety
	1/3 cup parsley, fresh, minced   (I cut this in half and just added more bread crumbs, because I don't really love parsley)
	2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
	2 large egg whites
	2 sprays cooking spray
	1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter
	1/2 Tbsp olive oil    Instructions:

• Place chicken between two sheets of wax paper or plastic (I just used a gallon sized ziploc bag); using a rolling pin, pound chicken to 1/4 inch thickness. 
  
• Rub chicken with 1/4 teaspoon each pepper and salt. Evenly divide prosciutto and cheese over chicken; fold chicken in half to cover prosciutto and cheese and press down to hold shape.
  
• In a shallow bowl, combine bread crumbs, parsley and remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Place flour on a plate. In another shallow bowl, whip egg whites until soft peaks form.
  
• To coat chicken, dredge each piece of chicken in flour; turn to coat. Then dip each chicken breast in egg whites; turn to coat. Next, dredge chicken in bread crumb-mixture and press down to make sure all sides are covered. Repeat until all four chicken breasts are coated.
  
• Coat a large skillet with cooking spray and set over medium-high heat; add butter and oil. When they begin to simmer (about 1 or 2 minutes), place chicken in a single layer in skillet; cook, flipping once, until nicely browned and chicken is completely cooked through, about 6 to 8 minutes each side. 1 chicken breast per serving.
• 
  

I was in a hurry to get dinner cooked so I rushed through the instructions and wound up breading my chicken before adding the cheese and ham. This caused a problem with the whole folding technique. Because I could no longer fold the cheese and ham inside I preheated the oven to 350 and placed the ham and cheese on top of the cooked chicken and let it melt for about 5 minutes. It turned out rather well I thought. Although next time I think I'll make it the correct way. 

It may look complicated but this meal was SUPER easy and SO yummy! It probably took me a whole of 30 minutes to have dinner ready and on the table. I served it with a baked potato and green salad. 

Leftover suggestion: serve it cold in thin slices over salad greens. (I'm gonna try this tomorrow)! 

Salsa Chicken

This recipe is so easy and so yummy!

2 Chicken Breasts
1/2 jar of salsa
Taco Seasoning

(Sorry I really don't measure much when I cook so I don't have exact measurements. Just put however much seasoning as you want).

Put all of this in the crockpot on high for around 5 hours or until chicken is very tender. When I put the chicken in the crockpot it was frozen so it won't take as long if it isn't frozen.

Take chicken out of crock pot and shred. Return to crockpot and mix with salsa and seasoning.

Serve over rice. I topped it with sour cream and olives.

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

I wish I was the type of person that was good at just throwing things together to make something yummy. I can't do it. When I throw stuff together it usually ends up being really gross. Instead, I use other people's recipes and then share them with you! That's okay as long as I give them credit right? This is another one from http://www.ourbestbites.com/. I am loving their recipes. I also made their French Dip Sandwiches, and Spaghetti & Meatballs this week - all of which have turned out delicious!  I especially enjoyed these taquitos that I made tonight. I served them with a side salad with Cilantro Lime Dressing, and salsa (recipe below) for dipping.

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos


- 1/3 Cup cream cheese
- ¼ Cup green salsa
- 1 Tablespoon lime juice
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon granulated garlic
- 3 Tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 2 Tablespoons sliced green onions
- 2 Cups shredded cooked chicken
- 1 Cup grated pepperjack cheese
- small corn or flour tortillas
- salt
- cooking spray

Heat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray. Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it’s soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, and garlic. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well. Heat a few tortillas at a time in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking 20-30 seconds. Place 2-3 tablespoons of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about ½ inch from the edges. Roll up and place seam side down on baking sheet. Make sure they do not touch each other. Spray tops lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt. Place in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.

Sorry, I wanted to take pictures...but I was hungry and I just ate them instead.
 
Salsa
(recipe slightly adapted from http://www.melskitchencafe.com/)
 
- 1/2 small red onion, peeled and quartered (I use whatever onion I have on hand - tonight it was green onions and they worked just fine)
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
- 1/4 cup jarred pickled jalepenos (I pour a little bit of the juice in as well, we like spicy!)
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 (28 oz.) can diced tomatoes (I use the juice and all)
 
In a blender, pulse all ingredients except for the tomatoes. Add tomatoes and pulse until combined.

Pesto Lasagna

If you love pesto, this is the recipe for you! We love pesto in our house, and this lasagna could not be easier!

Prepare sauce by diluting one bottle of pesto sauce (generally pretty small jars) with milk, cream, or half 'n' half (can dilute quite a bit as long as it still tastes like pesto). When I make mine, it looks more creamy than pesto-y (I know, I made that word up). Just taste it with your finger to make sure it doesn't lose its pesto flavor. Layer sauce, mozzarella, & no-boil lasgana noodles. Bake according to lasagna noodle directions.

We're kind of pasta snobs in our home (with Braden serving in Italy and me being Italian) so we only use Barilla. According to their box directions, bake at 375 for 50 minutes (covered with foil). Uncover and continue cooking until cheese is melted (about 5 minutes). This can make a 9x13, but I do smaller lasagnas for us.

As a note, if you keep it fairly saucy it won't dry out at all in the oven. Also, pesto is naturally quite oily - a very oil based sauce. Usually some green oil pools up on top of the lasagna and we dab that off with paper towels. We like to put sun dried tomatoes on top for the perfect addition. Yum!
Goes oh-so-well with parmesan rolls. I use Rhodes and roll them in butter and parmesan cheese and bake them as normal.

Pulled Pork Roast

Ok, so I don't know if you can really call this a recipe - more like a meal idea... But we LOVE this in our house! It couldn't be any easier and it tastes fantastic! We made this on fast Sunday and it was lovely to have it in the crock pot before church and to come home to an amazing smelling house and ready to eat.

2 lb. pork roast

bottle of good BBQ sauce

med. onion

Just throw a pork roast into the crock pot. I use a fork and poke holes all across the top and sprinkle garlic salt for tenderizing/flavoring purposes. Add a med. onion cut into wedges. Pour in an entire bottle of BBQ sauce on top and add a little bit of water (I add mine to the bottle, shake it up, and get all the rest of the good stuff out). Cook on low heat all day or high heat for half the time. Pull apart with a fork.

We like to eat ours with very simple roasted potatoes (oil, salt & pepper, oregano) and rolls.
Yummy!

We always have plenty left over. We freeze the rest of the pork and use it another time to have pulled pork sandwiches - just toasting some hard rolls under the broiler (with provalone cheese).

truly I do cook!! Beef Stroganoff

I feel terrible that I havn't posted on my day in like a month...truth is I have been cooking everybody elses recipes on this blog..haha but I am doing my quick beef stroganoff tonight and thought even though it's not my day I better post SOMETHING..

egg noodles
1 lb beef
cream of mushroom soup
cream cheese
sour cream
milk

1 - boil egg noodles while browning beef in a big skillet
2- once meat is cooked add 1 can cream of mushroom 1/2 block cream cheese and like 1/2 to 3/4 cup sour cream (it all depends on your taste buds) keep on medium until everything is blended together.
3- once noodles are cooked add to the meat mixture, if really thick then add little bits of milk until you get whatever consistency you are looking for.
4- you'll probably have to add salt, but I rather do it at the end than over salt anything.

I threw this together with some pillsbury crescent rolls and WALAH it's a nummy dish.

Cafe Rio Salads

I mentioned I was making this for dinner tonight and had several requests for the recipe, so I figured it would be easiest to post it all here (even though it's not my day to post, but it's okay because I missed my day this time anyway).

For those of you who are new here, this is just a blog I put together to learn new recipes and exchange recipes between friends. I've decided that I love to cook lately, and I'm always looking for new recipes to change things up! I would love to have you post your recipes! So, if you're interested, just send me your e-mail address and I'll send you an invite to be a publisher or whatever on this blog.

For those of you who aren't new here, I am going to take the posting schedule away (life is busy, I know, and it's not really working out anyway). So please still post! But post to your heart's desire as much as you want!

On to the deliciousness. I don't remember where exactly I got this recipe. I'm thinking it was out of a ward cookbook or something. So glad I finally tried it. It was so yummy. I'm so full right now and yet already looking forward to my leftovers for lunch tomorrow...or maybe a midnight snack? Say no to the tempation Amanda!

Cafe Rio Shredded Pork

- 4 lbs. pork roast - bone in (I think I actually just used some pork tenderloin I had in my freezer)
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 sliced onion
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1 cup chicken stock (I used broth - anyone know the difference between the two?)
- 1 can of Coke - not diet

Trim the fat off the roast. Rub the brown sugar, red pepper, salt,cumin, and paprika over the roast covering it completely. Place in the crock pot. Add the garlic, onion, chicken stock, and Coke. Cook on low for 5 hours.

- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons paprika

Take the pork out of the crock pot and shred. While the meat is out, add the brown sugar and paprika to the crock pot and let it dissolve. Return the meat to the crock pot and continue to cook another 3 hours on low

(I apparently don't like to follow directions. I just left the pork in the crock pot, added the brown sugar and paprika to the juices around the meat and stirred them in and let them dissolve while I was shredding the pork with 2 forks while still in the crock pot and then just stirred it all together. It's so much easier that way - for me anyway, and less messy).

Also, the original recipe says to cook on low for 8 hours in the first step, then shred and add the brown sugar and paprika and cook for an additional 8 hours on low. That seemed absurd to me so I just did 8 hours total (5 then shred then another 3). It worked perfectly, but I'm sure if you wanted to let it cook for that addional 8 hours it would make the meat that much more tender and flavorful.

I served the meat with tortillas (the uncooked kind is the best), black beans, cilantro lime rice (recipe below), romaine, and cilantro lime dressing (recipe source below). You can use any other toppings you like.

Cilantro Lime Rice
- 1 cup white rice
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro

Cook rice according to package directions using broth instead of water. When done, fluff with a fork and add the remaining ingredients.

*Again, I don't like to follow directions I guess. I used minute rice so instead of 1 cup, I used 2 cups of rice with the 2 cups of broth and it worked well.

Cilantro Lime Dressing

I got this recipe here. It is one of my favorite recipe websites!

Check out their spa week stuff. Natural facials, hair treatments, and a brown sugar body scrub. All on my list for the next time I need a ME day. Who's in for a girl's spa night?! Not to mention all of their Christmas goodies - YUM. So many recipes - way too many calories. Is it worth it? I think yes! 

Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti

Wow, I just noticed that nobody has posted for awhile! I'm late myself, but here is one my husband and I ate tonight and we were both LOVING it. Plus, it's extremely simple and filling. This will make you squash-haters change your minds. :)

1 spaghetti squash

1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce (or homemade would be great)

italian style cheese for the top (mozzarella, parmesan, etc)

1 to 2 TB oil

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400. Cut your squash in half lengthwise. Drizzle 1 TB (or a little less is fine) over each half, then sprinkle salt and pepper. Turn them cut-side-down on a cookie sheet, and roast in oven for 45-60 minutes.

Take a fork and rake it along the inside of each half so the little spaghetti strings come up from the sides. Pour some of the sauce directly into each half and top with cheese so it melts. Serve it just like that!

Soooo yummy!

Quick and Easy Stovetop Stuffing Chicken Bake

I wanted to post a quick variation to this recipe that I posted a while back. I made this for dinner tonight and tweaked it a little bit to make it work better. Sorry if any of you tried to make it before and it didn't work out well, that's my fault  because of the way I posted it. This time, I cooked and shredded the chicken beforehand. Then I only had to bake it long enough to warm it through. It's such a quick and easy meal and tasty!

Easy Stovetop Stuffing Chicken Bake

1 box Stovetop Stuffing - chicken flavored
3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, shredded (I just boiled them)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
2/3 cup sour cream

Prepare stuffing as directed on box, set aside. Mix together chicken, soup, and sour cream and spread in a 9 X 13 pan. Spread stuffing over the top. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until warmed through.

Crock Pot Lasagna

Ok, so this is a Jessica Seinfeld recipe. I saw it on TV the other day and wanted to give it a shot. I've only made it once and it was pretty yummy. It makes a HUGE thing of lasagna, however.

3 (14.4 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes (I wouldn't be opposed to it being saucier)

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 tbsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

2 containers (15 ounces each) fresh ricotta

2 cups grated mozzarella

1/4 c. parmesan

12 lasagna noodles (not the no boil ones, but DON'T boil them - put them in dry)

5 ounces baby spinach

In a medium bowl, combine the tomatoes, garlic, oregano, salt, red pepper flakes, and black pepper. In a separate bowl mix the ricotta, 1 c. of the mozzarella, and parmesan. In the bottom of a 5-6 qt. slow cooker, spread a thin layer of the sauce. Top with 3 of the noodles (breaking to fit as necessary). Spread about 1 c. of the sauce over the noodles and layer with 2 cups of the spinach and 1 1/2 cups of the cheese mixture. Repeat twice more with the noodles, sauce, spinach, and cheese. Top with the remaining 3 noodles, sauce, and 1 c. mozzarella. Cook on low, covered, until the noodles are tender - especially in the center of the lasagna - about 3 to 3 1/2 hours.

We generally like sauces to be a little spicier, so I upped the quantities of all of the spices for the sauce. I never would have even thought to make a lasagna in the crock pot, and it's not necessarily super authentic, but it was good nonetheless.

Homemade Pizza Dough (BBQ chicken pizza)

This week I made my first ever pizza dough from scratch. I don't know what I was afraid of all this time! I can't believe I used to drive all the way to Trader Joe's or Fresh n Easy to get their $1.25 pre-mixed dough instead of just making it myself. Duh. Honestly you can't mess this up!

Combine and let sit for 5 minutes:

3/4 cup warm water

1 1/2 t yeast

1 T sugar

Add:

1 t salt

1 1/2-2 cups flour

Let rise for 30 minutes. Roll out with a little extra flour out, if necessary. Let sit 5 minutes. Roll out again. Top with whatever you like! This makes one 15 inch pizza. For thicker crust, double the recipe. Bake at 425 for 20 minutes.

***I used both cups of flour because my dough still seemed really sticky.

***I did double it, thinking we'd have a nice thick crust, but it ended up being way too much for one pizza. I ended up pulling off about a quarter of the dough and making it into breadsticks.

***When our pizza came out after 20 minutes it was a little overcooked. I would suggest a shorter amount of time... maybe 15 minutes? Just make sure your toppings and cheese are hot and melty.

BBQ PIZZA RECIPE (pictured above):

1) Simply cook a chicken breast and shred/chop it up, or use leftover rotisserie chicken. Toss it with your favorite BBQ sauce. I actually cooked a couple of breasts in the crockpot with some BBQ sauce, shredded them and used that. (I had leftover shredded chicken for dinner the next night too)

2) Chop up some red onion and saute it with a little oil until they are cooked and golden.

3) Spread BBQ sauce on the pizza dough, put the red onion all over, then the chicken, then lots of cheese. We like the Italian blend pre-shredded kind, for ease, and some parmesan on top.

Easy Stroganoff

This is one of my favorite quick recipes. It's probably not the healthiest...but it's oh so yummy!

- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1 can cream of chicken soup
- 1 can cream of mushroom soup
- 1 cup sour cream
- dilute with milk
- 2 cups elbow noodles

Brown ground beef. (You can also add an onion in with the beef for more flavor, I just usually make this meal when I'm in a rush and I don't bother, and it still tastes fine.) Cook noodles according to package. Drain. Mix soups, sour cream, and milk. Add ground beef. *You can either mix it all together with the noodles or serve the soup mixture as a sort of gravy over the noodles. I just always mix it together. Simmer until it's all warmed through. 

Mexican Casserole

So, I failed. I meant to take a photo of our meal tonight and show you how amazingly yummy this casserole is... but I forgot. And taking a picture of the leftovers in my fridge might turn you off, because cold leftovers never look as appetizing. Oh well. You'll have to picture it and make it yourself! Super yummy, people!

3 cooked, shredded chicken breasts (I just boil mine)

1 diced green pepper (I did about 3/4 of green and 1/4 of red)

1/4 c diced red onion

1 can corn (drained)

1 can kidney beans (drained and rinsed)

1 can garbanzo beans (drained and rinsed)

1 can tomato sauce

1 c salsa (or you could add a little more salsa or tomato sauce to make it more moist when cooked - ours was a little dry tonight for some reason)

1/4 c chopped cilantro

2 cloves garlic, minced

salt & pepper

Mix all ingredients together in a big bowl. Spray a 9x13 pan with pam and put a layer of crushed tortilla chips on the bottom. Layer half the mixture, then some cheddar & monterey jack cheese, then the rest of the mixture, and then top with more cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 mins.

p.s. This is a great drop-off meal if you are making someone dinner. It's super easy to do, but I admit it's a little time-consuming chopping things up, cooking the chicken, and rinsing beans. Anyway, we did that tonight and it made enough for one of those throw-away 8x8 pans to drop off to our friends and then another whole pan to keep for our dinner.

Comfort Chicken

Is it seriously my turn to post again?!? Now that the cat's out of the bag that I'm pregnant, I can honestly say that I really haven't cooked more than a handful of times in months. Very sad and pathetic. I love to cook and experiment with my own recipes and all that stuff, but with the extreme nausea and food aversion, it just hasn't happened. So I just flipped through my recipes and found one that we like (definitely not a low fat meal so it's not eaten too frequently in our house!)

1 lb. chicken, baked & cut

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 c. butter

4 med. potatoes, bite-size pieces

20 baby carrots, bite-size pieces

1 c. cream

1 tbsp.parsley

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

In a large skillet, saute onion in butter (I actually reduce the amount of butter in this recipe). Add chicken and brown on all sides. Add potatoes & carrots (partially steamed in microwave first). Cover and cook on medium-low until veggies are tender. Stir in remaining ingredients and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer uncovered for 8 minutes. Enjoy!

I adjust my seasonings to make sure it doesn't turn out bland. Simple seasonings, but with the right adjustment it's perfect!

Not your Average Parmesan Chicken

Apologies for not posting yesterday. At least I remembered today right?

This is one of my ABSOLUTE favorite recipes!! Just make sure to only add 2 tsp. and not 2 TBS. of garlic salt or else it won't turn out so great. (Oh the journeys of trying to cook in a hurry and reading the recipe too quickly...and I had even made it a million times before)!!

As the recipe says "This is a winner you can count on". I AGREE! :)

Parmesan Chicken

2 cups crushed Ritz crackers
3 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons garlic salt
8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup plain yogurt (I've also made this with sour cream and it was DELICIOUS)! 
1/4 cup butter, melted

1 recipe Sour Cream Chicken Sauce (optional) I've actually only ever made the recipe with this sauce once and it is yummy either way.

Combine cracker crumbs, parmesan cheese, and garlic salt. Dip each piece of chicken in yogurt to coat and then cover breast in crumb mixture. Arrange in greased 9X13 inch baking dish. Drizzle with melted butter. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes. Top with Sour Cream Chicken Sauce, if desired. Serves 8.


Sour Cream Chicken Sauce

2 (10 ounce) can cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 cup sour cream

In a small saucepan heat soup and sour cream together over low heat. stirring frequently.

I most often serve this with mashed potatoes and fresh steamed veggies. It is also delicious with rice.

Apple Pork Chops

Okay, I always seem to remember that I was supposed to post the morning after. At least I remember, right? I'll make up for it today by posting one of our family's most favorite dinners ever! And it is easily in my top five "Easiest Dinners to Make."

APPLE PORK CHOPS

4 pork chops
1 can apple pie filling
1 box pork stuffing

Brown pork chops in skillet, then place in the crock pot. Prepare stuffing according to box directions, then pour stuffing and pie filling over pork chops. Let cook about 6 hours on low (or until pork chops are cooked through-most of the time they start falling apart). Enjoy!

Who wants Easy Pizza!

PIZZA!!!


So this is a great mini pizza that you can throw together really easy.


Corn Tortillas you can also use flour tortillas
Ricotta Cheese
Mozzerella Cheese
(any pizza condements you would like pepperoni, sausage, olives, and pineapples)
ragu sauce


heat the oven to 375 degrees

put about 6 corn tortillas on a cookie sheet
spread ricotta cheese on each shell
then spoon sauce over the cheese
you then add any of the condiments you want
make sure you add the shredded cheese at the end cover it really well!

put it in the oven for about 20-30 minutes, you want it to be incredibly done to over done.

then eat and enjoy!!! There also great as leftovers.

Italian roast beef over egg noodles

I like a good pot roast every so often, but sometimes I get tired of doing the whole "meat and potatoes with gravy" thing every time. My mom described this dish to me last week and I tried it out the other day. There's no set recipe, so this is just me sort of making it up based on what my mom tried and liked. It ended up being a perfect combination of flavors when serving it italian-style over noodles: garlic, tomatoes, and onion. Ryan and I both liked it a lot, and he said I could make it again which is always a good sign. :)

pot roast

1 can of italian tomatoes, stewed or diced

3-5 garlic cloves (depending on how much you like garlic, but more is better for this dish)

white onion (as large or small as you want, depending on how much onion you like)

salt and pepper and/or any kind of italian seasonings

Cut your garlic cloves in half (ish) so they have a point to each piece. Then make holes in your roast with a sharp knife so that you can insert the pieces of garlic into the holes all over the meat. Do this as much as you want - it really added an awesome flavor to the meat!

Spray your crockpot with Pam. Cut the onion into wedges or slices (whatever you like), and put them on the bottom. Put your meat in and season it with salt and pepper or other seasonings. Pour your can of italian-style tomatoes over the top and around the sides. Cook on low for 7 hours.

We pulled the roast apart into smaller pieces once it was done cooking, and served it over whole wheat egg noodles with a little parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. It was yummy!

**One can of tomatoes was plenty, but the stewed tomatoes didn't have enough pieces of tomato once you serve it over noodles, in my opinion. Next time I'll try diced and see if that works better. I also added a tiny bit of water, but it was totally unnecessary since it ended up plenty liquidy. Or maybe you could try 2 cans of stewed tomatoes but drain one, so you get more tomato but not all the liquid.

Mac & Cheese (with a hidden surprise)

...made with winter squash?!


I've been trying really hard to get Amelia to eat vegetables. She doesn't like them. Or rather, she just plain refuses to eat them whether or not she's even tasted it. She'll only eat green beans, and that's only if she's in the mood. It's not surprising because I'm pretty picky myself and will only eat a few different kinds of veggies, depending on if and how they're cooked. There are quite a few that I don't like at all. I found this recipe on food network in my search to "sneak" some veggies into Amelia's diet. She loves mac & cheese so I figured she'd eat it (she didn't). I made it for her today at lunch (although it's a little more effort than I want to spend on lunch) and I thought it turned out pretty good. I struggle and tend to make stupid mistakes when I'm cooking sometimes so it probably could have been even better...but such is my life.

While I'm on the subject...do any of you have any suggestions on how to get your little ones (or yourself for that matter) to eat vegetables? Or even any other recipes with veggies snuck in? She's too young to understand the "you'll eat what's in front of you" concept. Maybe she would eat carrot and celery sticks if she had enough teeth. We're just in an awkward age right now and I don't know what to do. I try to make sure we always have some kind of vegetable for dinner (usually a side salad - which Amelia won't eat - or green beans), but I myself don't even eat them throughout the day, I know I'm not getting as much as I should be, and if I'm not eating them Amelia's not going to eat them right? I'm not a salad person.  I like it okay as a side, but I have to really be in the mood for a salad to eat it for a meal. I ate a chicken wrap with lots of veggies on it for lunch today - I guess if I have to do that every day I can....

Sorry about the novel, here's the recipe:

Macaroni & 4 Cheeses

- Cooking spray
- 1 pound elbow macaroni
- 2 (10 ounce) packages frozen pureed winter squash
- 2 cups 1% lowfat milk
- 4 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, grated (about 1 1/3 cups)
- 2 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, grated (about 2/3 cup)
- 1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon powdered mustard
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 tablespoons unseasoned bread crumbs
- 1 teaspoon olive oil

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Coat a 9 X 13 in. baking pan with cooking spray. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the macaroni and cook until tender but firm, about 5-8 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Meanwhile, place the frozen squash and milk into a large saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally and breaking up the squash with a spoon until deforsted. Turn the heat up to medium and cook until the mixture is almost simmering, sitrring occasionally. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the cheddar, jack cheese, rocotta cheese, salt, mustard and cayenne pepper. Pour cheese mixture over the macaroni and stir to combine. Transfer the macaroni and cheese to the baking dish. Combine bread crumbs, parmesan and oil in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the top of the macaroni and cheese. Bake for 20 minutes. Then broil for 3 minutes so the top is crisp and nicely browned.

Easy Mango Chicken

• 4-5 chicken breasts (boneless and skinless, I use 3 large breasts)
• 1 can corn, drained
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 3 cups mango salsa 
• Cumin to taste
• Lemon Pepper to taste

1. Put chicken breasts in crock pot. Add cumin and lemon pepper. Cover and cook chicken until tender. Shred chicken on a plate and return to crock pot. Save juices in separate bowl.
2. Add corn, beans and salsa. More salsa can be added to taste. If mixture seems dry, add some of reserved juices.
3. Serve over coconut jasmine rice. Garnish with cilantro or parsely, if desired.

Coconut Rice (rice cooker version)

• 2 cups Thai jasmine-scented white rice (note that other types of rice, such as brown rice, do not work for this recipe)
• 1 1/2 cups good-quality coconut milk (not “lite”)
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp brown sugar

1. Place rice in rice cooker. Add the water, coconut milk, sugar and salt. Stir well (use a plastic or wooden utensil to avoid scraping off the non-stick surface).
2. Cover and set to cook.
3. Once your rice cooker switches to “warm” mode, allow another 8-10 minutes for rice to finish “steaming”. This will ensure your coconut rice is fully cooked and pleasantly sticky.
4. Gently fluff with chopsticks before serving. Serves 4

Coconut Rice (stovetop version)

• 2 cups Thai jasmine-scented white rice*
• 2 cups good-quality coconut milk
• 1 3/4 cups water
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. coconut oil, OR other vegetable oil
• 1 tsp brown sugar

1. Rub oil over the bottom of a deep-sided pot. You will also need a tight-fitting lid.
2. Place rice, coconut milk, water, sugar and salt in the pot and set over medium-high to high heat.
3. Stir until liquid comes to a gentle boil (stirring will keep the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pot and burning).
4. Once the coconut-water has begun to gently bubble, stop stirring and reduce heat to low (just above minimum). Cover tightly with a lid and let simmer about 15 minutes, or until most of the liquid has been absorbed by the rice (to check, pull rice aside with a fork to see down to the bottom of the pot).
5. When the liquid is gone, turn off the heat, but leave the covered pot on the burner to steam another 5-10 minutes, or until you’re ready to eat. Tip: Your Coconut Rice will stay warm this way for up to 1 hour or more, great for when you’re expecting company!
6. When ready to serve, remove the lid and fluff rice with a fork or chopsticks. Taste-test the rice for salt, adding a little more if needed. Serve right out of the pot, or place in another serving bowl.

YUM!!!