Monday, March 2, 2009

Easy Recipes

Good Monday morning! Here are some quick and easy recipes for those evenings when you just don't really feel like cooking. I got the first two recipes from the Dollar General website.

SPEEDY TUNA BAKE
1 pkg. (7-1/4 oz.) Macaroni & Cheese Dinner
½ can (8 oz.) mixed vegetables
1 can (6 oz.) white tuna in water, drained, flaked
8 RITZ Crackers, crushed

PREPARE Dinner in large saucepan as directed on package, adding vegetables to the boiling Macaroni water for the last 2 min.
ADD tuna; mix lightly.
TOP with cracker crumbs just before serving.
SUBSTITUTE: ¼ cup French-fried onion rings for the crackers.

TACO BAKE
1 pkg. (14 oz.) Macaroni & Cheese Dinner
1 lb. ground beef.
1 pkg. (1-1/4 oz.) Taco Seasoning Mix
¾ cup sour cream
1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1 cup of chunky Salsa

HEAT oven to 400°F.
Prepare KRAFT® Deluxe Macaroni & Cheese Dinner as directed on package.
While Macaroni is cooking, cook meat with taco seasoning as directed on package.
STIR sour cream into prepared Dinner; spoon ½ into 8-inch square baking dish. Top with layers of meat mixture, 1 cup cheese and remaining Dinner mixture; cover with foil.
BAKE 15 MIN.; top with salsa and remaining cheese. Bake uncovered, 5 min. or until cheese is melted.

These last two recipes aren't quite as quick and easy as the first two were. I found them at the Pillsbury website and they just sounded good to me.

SOUTHWESTERN CHEESE-STUFFED CHICKEN ROLL-UPS
1 container (8 oz) chives-and-onion cream cheese spread
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/3 cup drained Old El Paso® pickled jalapeƱo slices (from 12-oz jar)
1/2 cup canned (drained) Green Giant® whole kernel corn
6 Old El Paso® taco shells (from 4.6-oz box), coarsely broken
3/4 teaspoon chili powder
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/4 lb)
2 tablespoons LAND O LAKES® Unsalted or Salted Butter, melted
1/2 to 3/4 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons honey
1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend (4 oz)
1 2/3 cups Old El Paso® Thick 'n Chunky salsa
2/3 cup sour cream

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 350°F. In medium bowl, stir together cream cheese, garlic powder, jalapeƱos and corn; set aside.
2. Place broken taco shells in resealable food-storage plastic bag; seal bag. Crush taco shells with rolling pin until coarsely ground. (Or, place broken taco shells in food processor bowl with metal blade; process until coarsely ground.) Pour crumbs into shallow dish; stir in chili powder.
3. Between pieces of plastic wrap or waxed paper, place each chicken breast, smooth side down; gently pound with flat side of meat mallet or rolling pin until about 1/4 inch thick. Spread butter over one side of each chicken breast.
4. Place about 1/3 cup cream cheese mixture on center of buttered side of each chicken breast; roll up chicken. Pour buttermilk into shallow dish. Dip chicken rolls in buttermilk, then coat with crumb mixture. Insert toothpick to secure. Place in ungreased 8-inch square (2-quart) glass baking dish. Drizzle with honey.
5. Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center. Sprinkle with Mexican cheese blend; bake 4 to 5 minutes longer until cheese is melted. Serve with salsa and sour cream.
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Heat oven to 375°F.

OOEY-GOOEY TURTLE
1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated sugar cookies
1 bag (12 oz) semisweet chocolate chips (2 cups)
3 cups Fisher® Chef's Naturals® Chopped Pecans
1/2 cup LAND O LAKES® Butter
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 jar (12.25 oz) SMUCKER'S® Caramel Ice Cream Topping
1 cup graham cracker crumbs (16 squares)

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Press cookie dough evenly in bottom of ungreased 13x9-inch pan.
2. Sprinkle 1 cup of the chocolate chips and 1 1/2 cups of the pecans over dough; lightly press into dough. Set aside.
3. In 2-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Stir in brown sugar, caramel topping and graham cracker crumbs. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Pour over crust in pan; spread evenly. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup chocolate chips and 1 1/2 cups pecans.
4. Bake 25 to 32 minutes or until edges are deep golden brown and pecans are lightly toasted. Cool on cooling rack 30 minutes; loosen sides from pan, but do not cut. Cool completely, about 3 hours longer. (For firmer bars, let stand an additional 2 hours.) For bars, cut into 6 rows by 4 rows.
High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Bake 27 to 34 minutes.


Rylie had her first birthday party to go to on Saturday. When the invitation arrived it happened to be a Disney Princess Party Invitation. Well, Rylie decided that she had to go dressed as a princess. So she wore her Cinderella dress and a little crown with matching earrings and ring.
I got her in the car and had to run by the convenience store before going to the birthday party. As were walking by the glass fronts of the soda coolers, I saw her turn and blow a kiss at the cooler. I asked her who she was blowing a kiss to and she told me "Me! because I'm so pretty." Okaaay, either I've done a really good job of raising a little girl who is self-confident and loves herself, as we all should. Or I've raised one of the most vain little girls in the Northwest Ohio area. LOL Since I've seen her show sympathy and compassion for others, I'm gonna go with the self-confident train of thought here.
Have a fantastic Monday.
Hugs!
Jill Marie

3 comments:

*Tracy* said...

your daughter looked adorable!!! have a good week. hugs

swmpgrly said...

Great job mom , she IS beautiful!

Rebecca Anne said...

Oh I adore that picture and the story of her blowing a kiss. Thats a priceless moment and now you've got it down in the relic of words. Perfect.
Rebecca