Christmas 2013

Wow, I was just looking though all my unpublished posts and noticed I never shared our Christmas from 2013. So almost 3 months late, here it is.  We had a nice morning opening presents at home from Santa. We then headed to my parents house for breakfast and more presents.  Around lunch time we headed to my Aunt and Uncles house for the family get together.   It was another great year and we got so much stuff and are so glad we could share it with our families! 

Burrito Bake

A friend of mine pinned this recipe on pinterest and as soon as I saw it I was off to the store to get the ingredients. It was very good and I don't think we had any leftovers.

1 lb ground beef

1 package taco seasoning 

(I made my own taco seasoning a while back)

10 ounce can refried beans

1 cup bisquick

1/4 cup water

1 cup cheddar cheese

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown and drain ground beef. Stir in taco seasoning. Mix beans, bisquick, and water together in a bowl. 

Spread bisquick mixture in a baking dish. Cover with meat. Top with cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. 

Sausage Burger Sandwiches

I've been wanting to make these little sandwiches for a long time. I finally got around to making them and now I want to make them every week. They were so good. I am actually thinking about making them for the kid's birthday party.

1 lb ground beef

1 lb italian sausage

velveeta cheese

hawaiian rolls or dinner rolls

Brown ground beef and sausage.  Drain. Mix in cheese. Serve on buns. 

Crock Pot Pepperoni Chicken

If you've been reading for a while you know I like chicken recipes. I also like my crock pot. This recipe was quick to prepare and tasted great. Marley loved it.

Chicken Breasts

Pepperoni

Diced onion

Salt

Garlic Powder

Italian Seasoning

Place chicken in crock pot.  Sprinkle on seasonings and onions.  Cover with pepperoni. 

Cover and cook on low 4-6 hours. 

Tortellini Chili

I loved that this recipe was easy to prepare and was pretty delicious. It had more of a soup consistency to it than chili, but it was still good.  AND it made me decide that next time I make my lasagna soup, instead of noodles I am going to use tortellini. YUM! 

1 lb. tortellini

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

2 tablespoons fresh minced garlic

1 lb. ground beef

32 ounces chicken broth

15 oz can rotel

1 can red beans

1 can black beans

2 tablespoons ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Cook tortellini according to package directions.  Pour olive oil in a pan and add in onions and garlic. Saute for a few minutes.  Add ground beef and cook until browned. Drain beef and tortellini.  In a large pot mix meat, broth, tomatoes, beans, cumin, garlic salt, chili powder, salt and pepper. Stir in tortellini.  Heat for 10 minutes until hot. 

Crock Pot Chicken Quesadillas

I haven't made quesadillas in a while. I had one of those fancy quesadilla maker things, but someone decided to make a cookie in it and when that didn't work out so well we had to throw it away. I don't know why I never thought to make them on the griddle, but it worked out well.

1 small cans green chilis, diced

12 oz jar salsa 

1 teaspoon ground cumin 

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken 

salt and pepper, to taste 

shredded cheese

Place chicken in crock pot. Place remaining ingredient (except cheese) on top. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. 

Once done cooking shred chicken.  Place tortillas on griddle and top with cheese and chicken mix. Top with another tortilla and flip to cook to your liking. 

Pizza Roll Up

I've made something similar to this before here, but I used bread dough. I wanted to try this recipe because it used pizza crust instead. This one was much better and had less prep than the other recipe.

1 can pizza sauce

1 can pizza crust dough

cheese

pepperoni

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spread out dough and cover with sauce, pepperoni, and cheese. You could add any other toppings you wanted also.  Roll up dough. Tuck in the ends and pinch the seam together. 

Sprinkle some cheese on top.  Bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until dough is golden brown. 

One Pan Spinach & Sausage Pasta

This dish was really delicious and easy to make. I liked it because it wasn't a casserole so I only needed to wash one dish afterwards and it tasted just as good.

6 oz. smoked sausage 

1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

1 (14.5 oz.) can rotel

2 cups chicken broth 

8 oz. pasta 

3 cups fresh spinach 

1 cup shredded cheese

Thinly slice the sausage and add it to a large skillet with the olive oil. Saute the sausage until browned.   Drain if needed. Add the onion and saute until the it has softened. Add the can of rotel and the chicken broth. Stir to combine.

Add the uncooked pasta to the skillet and make sure it is all submerged under the liquid. Cover and let come to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for ten minutes, or until the pasta is tender. Stir once or twice while the pasta cooks to keep it from sticking.  Stir in the spinach. Heat for a few more minutes until spinach is wilted and sauce thickens. Sprinkle the cheese on top, replace the lid, and let it sit for a few minutes until the cheese is melted.

Brown Sugar Spiced Chicken

I don't even have any words to describe this chicken. It was SO GOOD! You must make it, tonight!

2 1/2 tbsp light brown sugar

1 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp cumin

3/4 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp garlic powder

6 chicken breasts

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Mix all ingredients except chicken together in a bowl. Coat each chicken breast with this mixture. Place on baking sheet and bake at 425 for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.  

Enchurritos

I like to cook, but sometimes I like to take the easy route, but still make it feel like I cooked a nice meal for the family. This is one of those meals. Of course, you could make your own burritos, might cost a little bit more, but made to your liking.  

Frozen burritos

1 can enchilada sauce

cheddar cheese

Preheat oven according to burrito package directions.  Place burritos in baking dish. Pour sauce over top and cover with cheese.  Bake according to the package directions. 

Very quick and very good. 

Taco Braid

I loved the spaghetti bread I made before so when I saw this recipe for taco braid I knew I wanted to make it.  It was very good, but spicy, I think next time I will just use diced tomatoes without the green chilis in there.

1 pound ground beef

taco seasoning 

1 can rotel tomatoes- drained

1 can black beans- drained and rinsed

2 cans crescent rolls

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Brown and drain ground beef. Mix with taco seasoning, tomatoes, and beans.  Spread out the crescents on a cookie sheet, but don't separate them. Press seams together to form one piece.  Place meat mixture in the middle and make one inch strips on each side of meat.  

Fold over dough in a braid. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.  Let sit for 5-10 minutes before cutting.