Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Orange Chicken

This is from a blog that I LOVE- real mom kitchen. I was really excited to try it because I love orange chicken. It was a hit!! It turned out delicious! Here's a link to the recipe

http://realmomkitchen.blogspot.com/2008/07/orange-chicken.html

I didn't add red pepper flakes and I used appe cider vinegar and ginger spice-because that's what I had. It was great!

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookies

This is the perfect recipe for the fall weather. It makes a lot of cookies--around 4 dozen, so it's great for sharing with friends and neighbors.

3 c. sugar
3 c. canned pumpkin
1 1/2 c. shortening
3 tbsp. orange peel
6 c. flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tbsp. baking soda
1 tbsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp. salt
1 c. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix sugar, pumpkin, shortening, and orange peel. Add the rest of the ingredients. Bake 8-10 minutes.

Frosting
Mix together:
3 c. powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/3 c. margarine
1 tbs. milk
(optional--3 oz. cream cheese) It's amazing with the cream cheese. I would definitely recommend adding it in.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Just to let you know

Heyeverybody! I just wanted to let everybody know I added the label gadget to the side to make things easier to find. So when you are writing a post be sure to add labels (such as main dish, chicken, dessert, salad, side dish, etc). I think this will even make our amazing website even cooler :)

Roasted Corn and Chicken Tostada

Here's the chicken tostada recipe from Special K! It's only 480 calories and sooo good. You can add more of the stuff you want more on your tostada.

Ingredients:
1 (7-inch) whole wheat flour tortilla or flour tortilla
Nonstick cooking spray
1/3 cup frozen whole kernel corn
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
4 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 cup salsa
1/4 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup shredded lettuce
2 tablespoons shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon fat-free sour cream

Directions:
Lightly coat both sides of tortilla with cooking spray. Place on baking sheet. Bake at 400° F about 10 minutes or until crisp.
Meanwhile, in small nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray cook corn over medium-high heat for 1 to 3 minutes or until beginning to brown, stirring frequently. Remove from skillet. Set aside.
In same small skillet heat oil. Add chicken, chili powder and cumin. Cook and stir over medium-high heat for 2 to 3 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Stir in salsa, beans and corn. Heat through.
Place tortilla on serving plate. Top with lettuce, chicken mixture, cheese and sour cream. Serve immediately

Monday, September 21, 2009

Brown Consomme Rice

*1 Cup uncooked long grain rice (not instant)

*1/2 cube butter

*2 cans of beef consomme



Saute rice in butter till it just starts to brown. Put in baking dish along with beef consomme plus enough water to make 3 cups of liquid. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Easy Sunday Roast

Travis and I LOVE this roast. It is so easy and makes the perfect Sunday meal!



*Beef Roast
*1 packet of brown gravy mix
*1 packet of ranch dressing mix
*1 packet of italian dressing mix

Mix the three packets together and rub over a roast. Add a little bit of water and cook on low all day. Halfway through add potatoes, celery, onions, or anything else you like.

Creamy Tomato Soup

This tomato soup is SO good! Greg call it lasagna soup because that is what it tastes like. I make a salad and garlic bread for dipping and it is a delicious meal!

1 medium onion, chopped
2 TB butter
2 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cans (10.75 ounces each) condensed tomato soup, undiluted
1 1/2 cups milk
1 ts sugar
1/2 to 1 ts dried basil
1/2 to 1 ts paprika
1/8 to 1/4 ts garlic powder
1 package cream cheese, cubed

In a large saucepan, saute onion in butter until tender. Stir in the tomatoes, soup, milk, sugar, basil, paprika and garlic powde. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add cream cheese; stir until melted. Serve immediately

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Quick Three-Bean Chili

I love chili and this is an easy one to make. I found it in a baby magazine for moms who have no time. It takes only 30 minutes total to make. It makes 6 servings, so if that's too much, you can freeze the rest and it still tastes great a week later!

1 lb. extra lean ground beef or turkey
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 can (28 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can each (15 to 16 oz) black beans, kidney beans, and pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup water
1 tbsp. chili powder
1-2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. beef or chicken flavor instant bouillon
Light sour cream (optional)
shredded cheddar cheese (optional)
Chips (optional)

Cook beef, onion, and garlic in large saucepan over medium-high heat until beef is no longer pink.

Stir in tomatoes and juice, black beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, water, chili powder, cumin, and bouillon. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for 10 minutes. Serve with sour cream and cheese and tortilla chips or fritos chips.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Italian Zucchini Casserole

I found this recipe in a Taste of Home cookbook. I was looking for a way to use up all that garden zucchini I had. This recipe is delicious! Bonus: I used fresh tomatoes instead of canned ones and used up some garden tomatoes too! We really enjoyed this recipe- hopefully you will, too.

Prep: 35 min Bake: 30 min

3 medium zucchini, sliced (about 6 1/2 cups)
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 medium onion, sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained (if using real tomatoes, add some water)
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups stuffing mix
1/2 c grated parmesan cheese
3/4 c mozzarella cheese


In a large skillet, cook zucchini in 1 Tb oil 5-6 mnutes of until tender; drain and set aside. In the same skillet, saute the onion and garlic in remaining oil for 1 minute. Add tomatoes, basil, oregano, garlic salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Remove from heat; gently stir in zucchini.

Transfer to a greased 9x13 in dish. Top with stuffing mix(I poured a little water over the top of the stuffing); sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Cover and bake at 350 for 20 min. Uncover; sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Bake 10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Yield: 6-8 servings

Saturday, September 12, 2009

WELCOME!!

Welcome to the momma chef blog! This blog was created for all of us cooking moms who desire something delicious without spending loads of time! I love getting favorite recipes from other people- their tried and true favorites. I know that they'll be good and that they won't call for random ingredients that I've never even heard of. It's nice to mix it up too, instead of just always having our usual dinners.

So share your favorite recipes with us! Main courses, desserts, appetizers. . . we want it all! Hopefully we can make each other's lives a little bit easier- and a lot yummier!