Recipes: Easy Chicken Skewers

Alright, so here is a super easy recipe and I mostly am just throwing it out there as a simple dinner idea.
Ingredients:
Chicken (about one breast per person being fed)
Green bell pepper (about one per two people)
Red/ Yellow bell pepper (about one per person)
Zucchini (one per person)
Carton of Grape Tomatoes
Sweet red onion (to taste)
Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
Wooden Skewers

Directions:
Cut up chicken into cubes. Put in a gallon sized bag and coat with balsamic vinaigrette dressing (make sure you chicken is fully covered).  Set the fridge for at least one hour, but preferably more than 12.

Cut up peppers and onion into cubes.  (If they are too small, it will be hard to get them on the skewers, but if they are too large, they seem more likely to break and fall off).  Slice zucchini.

Alternate putting chicken and vegetables onto skewers.  Grill on low heat for about twenty to thirty minutes and rotate frequently.

Leftovers!

Recipe: Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

Ok, so here is a recipe I mostly invented with some help from google.  I haven't quite mastered it yet...

Crust:
1 cup flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tbsp. butter 
1/8 tsp. salt
1/3 cup milk


Filling:
1lb chicken breast, cubed
2 T olive oil
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
2 cans condensed cream of chicken (or cream of mushroom)
1 bag of frozen vegetables (or fresh. I like frozen since the veggies turn out softer.  I like to use the corn, peas, beans and carrots mixture, but feel free to add your own stuff to taste)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. seasoned salt
1/3 c. water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Start by cubing chicken and adding it to the skillet with garlic salt and olive oil.  Cook fully on a low/medium heat, stirring occasionally.

In a small bowl, combine all of the crust ingredients.  Roll the crust into a ball and then roll out flat.  You can either divide the contents into 8 souffle cups or use a 9x9 pan.  I used my souffle cups to make individual servings (plus extras can be frozen or refrigerated/ reheated much easier).  To make the souffle crusts, use your souffle cups as cookie cutters to make the tops.  Set each crust off to the side.  Use cooking spray inside either the souffle cups or your 9x9 in pan.

Add frozen vegetables and 1 can of cream of chicken soup to your cooked chicken.  Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes. Afterwards, add the skillet contents into the same bowl used for the crusts as well as the other can of cream of chicken soup and all of your preferred seasonings.  Add water for a better consistency.

Transfer the filling into either the souffle cups or the 9x9 in pan. If you are using the souffle cups, stretch each crust out a little bit before topping your filling.  Try to make sure each one fully stretches the top of the cup.  If you are using a 9x9 pan, make sure the crust stretches across the top, and use a fork to make a neat edge (if so desired).  Put your pan(s) on a baking sheet covered with foil (alleviates mess) and bake for 20 minutes for the souffle cups and 30 minutes for the 9x9 in pan.  Make sure the tops are a nice golden brown.  Cool for at least 10 min, then serve.

(note: I haven't tried it, but I am fairly certain a faster alternative for the crust would be to use pre-made biscuits, divide them in half and stretch them to cover the souffle dishes.  Again, I haven't tried that yet, but I seriously considered it)

Recipes: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ok, so here is an amazing recipe and perfect for fall.

I got this from my friend Jen, at church.  Supposedly, it makes 30 cookies, but I found one batch makes almost 50 if you are using normal tablespoon sized amounts.  So here it is:

Prep time: 10-20 min
Cook time: 12- 15 min

Ingredients:
   2 1/4 c. all purpose flour
   1 1/2 t. pumpkin pie spice
   1/2 t. cinnamon
   1 t. baking powder
   1/2 t. salt
   1 c (2 sticks) butter, softened
   1 c granulated sugar
   1 can (15 oz) pumpkin (Libby's is best)
   2 large eggs
   1 t. vanilla extract
   2 c. (12-oz pkg) semi-sweet chocolate chips
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl.  Beat butter and sugar in large mixer bowl until creamy.  beat in pumpkin, eggs and vanilla extract. Gradually beat in flour mixture.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Drop by rounded tablespoons onto baking sheets.

Bake for 12-15 min or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Recipes: Easy Taco Dip

So this recipe, I pretty much made up on the fly.  It takes some time, but the amount of work required is minimal.

Ingredients:
1.5-2lbs Hamburger
2 packets of your favorite taco seasoning
2/3-3/4 c. water
1 Tbs garlic powder (I love garlic powder!)
1 jar your favorite salsa
1 can of diced tomatoes
20 oz cubed Velveeta
1 jalapeno
Tortilla chips

Directions:

Begin browning hamburger meat.

In a crockpot, add tomatoes, Velveeta, salsa (i prefer medium) and jalapeno.

Brown and strain hamburger.  Mix in taco seasoning and garlic powder and add water (use more or less based on amount of meat).  Bring to a simmer and add meat to crockpot.  Mix well.  Leave crock pot on low for a couple of hours at least until the cheese melts.  The amount of time it will take is based on how warm your crokpot it and how frequently you stir it.  But if you give it 1-2 hours by itself, it will be ready to serve!  

*If you don't like hot foods, you can get a mild salsa, mild taco seasoning, and no jalapeno

Recipes: Easy Peach Cobbler

This is a great one and always a hit! And just in time for peach season...

Instructions:
Prepare 3-4 cups of fresh/ frozen or canned fruit.  Drain frozen and canned. Just make sure the bottom of your 9-10" pie pan is covered but not overflowing. 

1c. flour                          
1c. sugar
1 t. baking powder
1 egg  well beaten
Mix all this together with a fork.  It will be lumpy and partly dry. 

Dump over you fruit and level slightly with your fork.

Melt 1 stick of butter and pour over crumbs.

Now get a hand full of brown sugar and sprinkle on top.
 
Bake at 350 for about 30-40 minutes (when I use lots of fruit and a 10" pan, it can take as long as an hour). 
 
 The time can vary greatly depending on the amount of fruit. 
 The crumbs should be browned on top.

 
***A couple of suggestions for this one. I like using 8 souffle cups instead of a pie pan. If you use a pie pan and try to serve the dish warm, your cobbler will loose its shape and get all runny. The souffle cups make for perfect portion size and you can put a scoop of vanilla ice cream right on top and it will melt into the dessert. (Souffle cups can easily be bought at Bed, Bath and Beyond).

Second suggestion is just make sure the bottom of the pan is covered in fruit, but not layered in it. Especially if you use canned fruit. Otherwise the mixture will bubble over and create a big mess in your oven.

If you use canned fruit, buy the light syrup variety and rinse the peaches after straining makes for less of a mess.

A dash of cinnamon in the mix makes this so good!***