1 medium sized package of tortellini, we use three cheese
1 8.1 oz can of traditional basil pesto
1 cup of cooked, cubed chicken
1/2 cup red pepper, diced
1/2 cup yellow pepper, diced
1/4 cup red onion, diced
Directions:
Bring 6 cups water to a boil. Add tortellini and cook until soft. Drain. stir in chicken. Stir in pesto. Add red and yellow pepper. Add red onion. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Right before serving, toss with a Parmesan or regianno cheese.
Reactions:
We didn't react, we just snarfed it down. This was a fabulous quick and easy, or make-for-later meal. :)
And you get... oh. We ate it too fast to get a picture. :) But trust me, it's yummy. And we have invented a new, yummy salad that I call Dijonic Tortispinach Salad. It is part Dijon, part Balsamic Vinaigrette, part spinach salad, and part tortellini salad.
Ingredients:
Salad:
1 (20-ounce) package cheese tortellini, cooked according to directions, strained, and lightly oiled (so it doesn't stick)
1 lb skinned and boned chicken breasts, grilled and chopped small
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 cups firmly packed fresh spinach, chopped
1/2 cup yellow bell pepper, diced
6 oz feta, crumbled
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup toasted pecan pieces
Dressing:
3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp light brown sugar
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 clove of garlic - minced
4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp Honey Dijon mustard (we use Boar's Head)
2 Tbsp Citrus Vinaigrette (Maple Grove Farms of Vermont is a great brand)
Pepper to taste
Directions:
Dump all of the salad ingredients into a large bowl. In a separate, small bowl, mix all of the dressing ingredients, whisk, and let set for about 15 minutes. Then whisk again and pour over the salad ingredients. Toss well to coat. Eat and die from the bliss of this strange concoction!
Reactions:
Daddy - this stuff is awesome. Hard to eat, but awesome!
Mommy - wow, I love the sweet, tart, bold flavors of the salad
Briaunna - eh, I like everything separate, but together it is confusing. Maybe I'll like it when I'm "more mature"... (mom replies, "you mean when your older", I reply, "take off the 'er' and your right")).
Kairi - I don't like it. Well, I like the tortellini and chicken, and I like the pecans and cranberries... but I don't like the spinach (surprise suprise)
Charis - yum! Can I have more?
Jocelyn - I'm full. I ate a bite and I'm full.
Xander - it sticks in my mouth! I want to take a nap.
Directions:
Place spinach in a large salad bowl. add remaining salad ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients. Pour
over the salad and toss well. We doubled the dressing recipe because we also added more spinach.
Reactions:
I LOVED the salad, and Jenn, Brian, mom, and daddy all loved it too. My brother and sisters didn't even try it, though, not with fruit salad salsa and ice cream to fill them up! It was super simple too! So we could spend more time in the pool than in the kitchen!
We love Asian-inspired dishes in our house. I love Chinese and Pho, but Thai and Japanese are my favorites. When I saw this recipe on Family Fresh, I had to try it! I changed some things in it, but kept the same basic recipe. My picture is not nearly as pretty as hers!
Ingredients:
1/2 cup Coconut Milk
1/2 cup natural crunchy Peanut Butte
1 tablespoon Thai Red Curry Paste
Juice from 1 Lime
1 tablespoon Soy Sauc
2 tablespoons Fish Sauce
1 Tbsp honey
2 teaspoons Toasted Sesame Oil
Pinch of Cracked Black Pepper
Pinch of Cinnamon
Pinch of Cayenne
2 pounds Chicken Breast, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 cup diced Onion
3 Garlic Cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon Coconut Oil, we use organic and unrefined
1 cup chopped Asparagus Spears, cut into 1 inch pieces
Directions:
Sauce: In a medium bowl whisk together the peanut butter, coconut milk, curry paste, lime juice, soy sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil, honey & seasonings to form a sauce. Taste and change anything if you want to. Set aside.
Chicken: Heat coconut oil in a large saute pan over medium high heat. Add onion & garlic, stirring and cooking until just getting smelly ('fragrant' is the proper term). Add chicken, cook until golden brown and cooked through about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally. Stir sauce into chicken and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add asparagus during the last few minutes of cook time.
We added crushed peanuts, coconut, and water chestnuts to ours and served it over jasmine rice and with steamed broccoli. Reactions:
Daddy, mommy, and I loved it! A total hit! I think Daddy and I had thirds...
Charis liked it all, except for the fact Jocelyn kept putting her asparagus on Charis' plate...
Jocelyn ate it, she eats anything, but wouldn't give me more than a scary clown face when I asked if she liked it.
Xander didn't like the 'peanut butter green stuff' and made a stink face.. then again, he is getting into the picky 5's.
Ingredients:
1-14.5 oz can black beans (preferrably goya)
1 roma tomato (seeded)
1/2 medium white onion
1 good sized avocado
2 ears of corn (uncooked)
EITHER 1 cup chopped cooked chicken
OR 1 cup walnuts, broken well
1/2 lime
1 tsp chili powder
3 'twists' of fresh black pepper
Directions:
Rinse and drain the beans well. Chop the tomato and onion into bite sized pieces. Shuck the raw corn. 1/2 the avocado, remove (but save) the pit, then skin the two halves and chop the avocado into bite sized pieces. Throw it ALL into a large bowl and toss with your hands. Add your nuts or chicken (whichever you chose to use... heck, use both, maybe it's good). Squeeze the lime over it all, sprinkle your chili powder over the mess, and crack your pepper. :) Again, get your hands messy mixing it! :)
Throw the pit of the avocado into it to keep the avocado from browning. Let it marinade for about 30 minutes. You can eat this on blue corn tortilla chips, with naan bread, or by itself on a bed of lettuce. We ate ours all three ways because we had leftovers twice. :)
Closing:
I didn't get pictures of this one, but it's really good. I also didn't ask my sibling's reactions, but I loved it, didn't hear any complaining, and my mom and dad loved it too!
Mmmm... we tried to make this as healthy as possible, but I don't think we succeeded.
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken
2 cups shredded low-fat 4-cheese blend
1 2/3 cups plain low-fat yogurt
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp pepper
1 regular can condensed, reduced-fat, reduced sodium cream of chicken soup
1 can chopped green chilis, drained
8 flour or corn tortillas
spray olive oil
1/2 cup shredded low-fat 4-cheese blend
1/4 cup chopped green onions
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350.
In a large bowl, combine the first 9 ingredients and mix well. Remove 1 1/4 cup of the mixture and set it aside.
heat a large skillet on medium high heat. Spray pan and place tortilla in the pan. Spray the top of the tortilla. Turn the tortilla after 5 seconds and brown the other side. Do all of the tortillas this way, removing from heat after done.
Fill each tortilla with about 1/2 cup of chicken mixture, then roll tight. Place them all in a greased 13x9 pan, seam side down. Top with the chicken mixture that was set aside.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, covered with tinfoil. Remove cover, sprinkle with the 1/2 cup cheese and green onions. Bake an additional 5-10 minutes.
We served ours with black olives, lettuce, and yellow rice.
Yum Yum!!!
Kid Rating: ****
Jocelyn: Off the hoo-zook! I want it again!
Kairi: You made it?!?! I loved it! It tasted sooo good!
Charis: Chicken tastes like candy with cheese. Onions are yummy in this.
Xander: Mommy gave me her's chicken.
Mommy: It tastes cheesy, chickeny, yummy yum.
Briaunna: Yummy rice, enchilada, and olives. Most everyone should enjoy this meal!
Since it was a hot summer day, we decided to grill out. BUT, since it was also my night to cook, daddy helped to make this meal by doing the actual grilling.
Grilled Chicken Marmalade Ingredients:
4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, fat trimmed off
1 1/2 cups orange marmalade
3 Tbsp balsamic vinaigrette
3 green onions, minced
1 Tbsp garlic powder
2 tsp rubbing sage
2 Tbsp olive oil
Directions: Mix ingredients 2-6 in a small saucepan. Warm over medium heat until warmed through. Start grill and cool mixture while the grill is heating. Rub chicken breasts with olive oil and place on grill. Brush with sauce. Continue to baste often, turning chicken 1/2 way through cooking (around 6 minutes per side).
Uncle Ken's Broccoli Salad Ingredients:
2 bunches of fresh broccoli
1/2 cup Miracle Whip
1/2 cup Mayonnaise
2-3 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp vinegar
1/4 cup diced red onion
2/3 cup golden raisins
1/3 cup bacon, cooked to crisp, drained, and crumbled (about 3-4 strips)
Directions: Begin by cutting off the tops of the broccoli (florets) and breaking into small pieces. Cut off the stump of the broccoli, then, using the side of the knife, pull (shave) off the length of the broccoli stem, throwing the shavings away, leaving the softer inner meat of the stem. Then, dice the stem into bite size pieces. Place all of the broccoli (except the shavings and stump) into a large bowl. Add the red onion, raisins, and bacon.
In a small bowl, mix together the vinegar, sugar, and both salad dressings. Mix well until smooth, adding what you need to make it the flavor and consistency that you need. Pour the dressing over the veggies in the bowl, cover with saran wrap, and shake the bowl well to coat all. Serve immediately.
We ate our meal of grilled chicken, broccoli salad, and cubed cantaloupe out on the deck, pool side, on a nice hot late spring day. I hope you enjoy it too...
1 16oz bag frozen broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and peas
1 tube refrigerated dough sheet.
salt and pepper to taste
In large saucepan, heat butter on medium high with celery and onion. Cook for about 4 minutes. Add can of soup and milk and stir until well mixed and bubbly. Add Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and cheddar cheese; heat until melted then remove from heat.
Add chicken and frozen veggies.
Preheat oven to 375. Pour filling into 13x9 pan. Unroll dough sheet and cut into strips. Create a lattice pattern on top of filling. Bake, uncovered for 25-30 minutes or until the lattice topping is golden brown and the filling is bubbly.
Everyone loved this meal, it was a real hit! All of the kids asked for more, and daddy shoveled his mouth full- something he doesn't do very much.
Momma here - sorry we skipped this week. She did make a meal, but we have grandma in from out of town and didn't take pictures or blog it.
But, in case you wanted to know what she made, it was a special dietary-needs meal. Grandma has Celiac Sprue, cannot have seeds, nuts, or pepper, and Grandpa is diabetic. Soooooo.....
We made a garden chicken pasta.
Ingredients:
DeBoles Rice spiral pasta
Tomato juice
1 Zucchini - chopped
1 Yellow Squash - chopped
1 Yellow Onion - chopped
3 chicken breasts, cooked and diced
2 garlic cloves - diced
dash of sage
Salt
She cooked her pasta to just UNDER-done. While that was boiling, she combined all of the rest of the ingredients in a saucepan and boiled it down to semi-thickened and vegetables were slightly unfirm. Toss pasta in and top with a sharp cheddar cheese.
She served it with tossed salad topped with walnuts, dried cranberries, bleu cheese, and vinegar dressing.
Slice chicken breasts ALMOST in half. Flatten with a meat mallet or heavy-bottomed glass (beat up the chicken. AAAAAAAH!). Put one slice of cheese and one slice of ham on each chicken breast and roll up like a kid in a blanket. Tuck the ends in and stab it with a toothpick to hold it together.
Mix flour, Parmesan cheese, sage and pepper in a bowl and roll the chicken rolls through it. Put the chicken rolls on a plate in the fridge for 1 hour.
After 1 hour, put cream of chicken soup and broth in a pan to warm up.
At the same time, heat the oil in a pan on the stove. Brown the chicken on all sides (careful, the oil spits) then put it in the crock pot. Dump the soup mix on top. Cover the crock pot and cook on low for 4-5 hours.
Remember to take out the toothpicks before you eat it!
We ate ours with jasmine rice and steamed broccoli.
KID RATING: ****
Chef Bri - "the sauce is my favorite. But the chicken got over cooked on the bottom and was a little crunchy on one place."
Kairi - "AWESOME! I love HAM! I didn't like the crunchy stuff though."
Charis - "I love the whole food. The meat and rice is soooo good and creamy"
Jocelyn - "I like it. It is heart-filled yummy to me!"
Xander - "Yea!" (he ate everything except the broccoli)
Hi. My name is Bri and this is my cooking blog. My mom is going to help me write about what I am learning to cook and you can see pictures sometimes too.
Every once and awhile my younger sisters will feature a recipe here as well!
