More Recipes Coming...

I know that I haven't put up any new recipes in a long time. More are coming, I PROMISE. I have three new ones that I am excited to share. Hopefully I will get one uploaded on Wednesday.

NEW! Jumbo Multi-Grain Krispies

If your household is like mine, we go through cereal really fast. Sometimes we eat it for supper and lots of times my husband eats it for a snack. When I leave the grocery store, I rarely have less than 3 boxes in my cart. Anyway, so I had a coupon for this cereal. Plus, I saw an commercial for it on TV and yes they had a baby in a high chair so they hooked me and I bought some.

Well, it is worth the money. They have a hint of honey so they are not bland like the original rice krispies. The best part... 90 calories, 0 fat and 3 grams of fiber per cup. Pair this with some skim milk and you have one low calorie breakfast or snack.

Hope you like it as much as I do!

Cheesy Beef Enchiladas

My good friend fixed these for me a couple years ago when we both lived in Louisiana. Both of our families moved to Alabama within six months of each other. When we moved I told her that I had missed her because I had been craving her enchiladas. My husband used to request for her to fix them for us. She gave me permission to post the recipe and said that the recipe originally came from Taste of Home.

Ingredients for Beef Enchiladas - Filling:

1 lb. ground beef

1/2 medium onion

2 tbl flour

1 tbl chili powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp sage

14 oz can stewed or diced tomatoes

Tortillas - Use whatever size you prefer

Cheese

Ingredients for Sauce:

6 cloves of garlic minced

1/3 cup butter

1/2 cup flour

1 can beef broth

15oz can tomato sauce

2 tbl chili powder

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp sage

1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Brown ground meat and drain. Cook onion with meat until clear. Add all the other ingredients and cook through. Spoon beef mixture into tortillas, top with cheese and roll making sure to tuck in the ends. (It will make 4 large burrito size or 8 medium soft taco size.)
• To make the sauce, combine flour, butter and garlic and make roux stirring continuously.
• Then add beef broth, tomato sauce and seasonings and cook through.
• Into oven safe casserole pan, spoon some of the sauce into the bottom and add rolled tortillas. Cover with the rest of the sauce and top with cheese.
• Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes at 350 degrees. Take foil off and cook an additional 15 minutes.
• Serve with sour cream and jalapenos.

Chicken Cheesesteaks with Peppers

This is a pretty simple sandwich that you could make for supper. It only takes about 25 minutes to make and is great for those nights where you don't have much time. This recipe can from a Martha Stewart Food Magazine.

Ingredients:
1 lb. chicken cutlets
2 tbl veg. oil
salt and pepper
2 bell peppers - your choice of green, yellow, red
1 large red onion - thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves - minced or sliced
6 ounces provolone cheese
4 soft hoagie rolls, split lengthwise
1/4 cup light mayo

Directions:

• Heat broiler, with rack set 4 inches from heat. On a rimmed baking sheet lined with foil, toss chicken with 1 tbl oil; season with salt and pepper.
• Broil, without turning, until chicken is opaque throughout, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Transfer to a cutting board and thinly slice. Let cool and set aside.
• On a baking sheet, toss together peppers, onions, garlic and remaining oil.
• Broil, tossing occasionally until crisp and tender and slightly charred, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Add chicken to broiled vegetables; toss and spread in a single layer.
• Top chicken and vegetables with cheese; broil until cheese is bubbling; 30 seconds to 1 minute.
• Scoop out most of the doughy center from both halves of the rolls; spread rolls with mayo; fill with chicken and vegetables
• Serve Immediately.

Variaton:
My husband and I decided as we were eathing this that next time we would put mushrooms in with vegetables, add a little manara sauce and cover with mozzarella cheese instead of provolone.

Appetizer: Roasted Parmesan Asparagus‏

From Guest "Chef" - Justin Quarles

Ingredients:
1 bunch of fresh asparagus
1 tbs olive oil
Kosher salt
Black pepper
Fresh parmesan cheese

Directions:

• Take asparagus and spread evenly on backing pan
• Coat it with 1tbs of olive oil, roll around to cover
• Sprinkle with salt and pepper
• Put in oven for 15-20 minutes until tender
• Remove and add parmesan cheese
• Return to oven for 1 minute and serve

Recipe Review!

I thought that since other bloggers do Book Reviews, I would do some reviews of Boxed Dinners. I am a Louisiana girl, born and raised. I love Cajun food. However, it is not always easy and it takes some time. So I started trying Zatarain's boxed dinner mix. I have not been disappointed. Now, I am sure that if someone takes the time to make this from scratch it will be better; however, this is a great option for someone who is trying to cook dinner in 30 minutes and doesn't always have lots of ingredients on hand. Each of these mixes are cheap - about 1.25 each. Add your meat and you have your main dish.

This Jambalaya Pasta, which I call Pastalaya, I make every other week or so. I add a couple cooked chicken breasts and 1/2 a pound to a pound of sausage and everyone loves it. It only has to cook about 15 minutes once everything is combined in the pot. Definitely a 30 minute meal. Definitely recommended!

I absolutely love crab cakes. I usually make them from scratch; however, I don't always have the ingredients on hand. This mix makes crab cakes easy. I even use canned crab meat. Comes in a can like tuna fish but it's crab. Works great and is a lot cheaper. I know that some big name chefs might frown on my canned crab meat, but hey, I'm a mom on a budget.

There are a few things I do differently than the instructions:
1. I add a little more mayo just so that the crab cakes are not dry.
2. After I form my crab cakes I like to coat them in plain bread crumbs (Panko if you have them.) This gives them an extra crunch.

This Red Beans and Rice boxed Dinner mix is my husbands favorite. We add a pound of sausage and again ready in no time. Add with some saltine crackers and he is one happy man.

The recipe does not call for you to put the sausage in the Red Beans and Rice while it is cooking but I do. I brown my sausage in the pot and then add the mix and follow the direction. You can have sausage on the side if that is your preference.

Hope you enjoyed the Zatarain's Review!

Peanutty Noddles with Shrimp

If you like Thai food, you will love this one. A year or so ago, I was watching Robin Miller on Food Network and came across this recipe. I have made it ever since. It is not heavy so it doesn't make you feel bad after you eat it, like some pasta dishes do.

Peanutty Noodles with Shrimp

Ingredients:
8 ounces wheat noodles
3 cups chicken broth
2 Tbl soy sauce
2 Tbl creamy peanut butter
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp hot sauce
2 tsp peanut oil
1 Tbl minced fresh ginger
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts
1/4 cup scallions
Cilantro for garnish, optional

Directions:

• Cook noodles according to package instructions
• In a medium saucepan make peanut sauce: Combine chicken broth, soy sauce, peanut butter, sesame oil and hot sauce. Whisk until blended and set pan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and simmer 10 minutes.
• Heat peanut oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
• Add ginger and garlic and saute 2 minutes.
• Add bell pepper and saute 2 minutes.
• Add shrimp and saute 2 minutes.
• Add 1 cup of peanut sauce and simmer 2 minutes, until shrimp are bring pink and cooked through.
• Drain noodles and add to shrimp mixture. Toss to combine.
• When serving top with chopped peanuts, scallions and cilantro if desired.
• Enjoy!

Note 1: If you don't want to use wheat noodles, replace it with another hearty noodle.
Thin spaghetti or angel hair will not work with this dish. Asian or Thai noodles would work great.

Note 2: You should have remaining peanut sauce. You can add it to the dish if you want more sauce or keep it and add it to leftovers so that they are not dry. *