Easy Cheesy Peasy Shepherd's Pie

 Have I ever mentioned my love for the Kraft Food and Family Magazine?  If you haven't you should totally check it out.  They have ideas for the simplest and most delicious meals and can keep coming up with new ideas month after month!  This one came from the Fall Food And Family Magazine and is a great comfort meal, so why am I posting it in the Summer?  It could have to do with the month of June that we had where it rained litterally every day and we rushed home from Tee-Ball games and grabbed ourselves some hot chocolate.  We were in need of some comfort and this Shepherd's Pie hit the spot!

Shepherd's Pie

Source: Kraft

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef

2 cups  hot mashed potatoes

4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, cubed

1 cup  KRAFT Shredded Cheddar Cheese, divided

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 cups  frozen mixed vegetables, thawed

1 cup beef gravy

 

Directions:

1. Brown, meat in large skillet; drain.

2. Mix potatoes, cream cheese, 1/2 cup cheddar and garlic until well blended.

3. Combine meat, vegetables and gravy; spoon into 9-inch square baking dish.
4. Cover with potato mixture and remaining Cheddar. Bake 20 min. or until heated through.
 



Mmmmm... hearty meaty goodness!  Guess who ate the most... the 1 year old!

Homemade Chicken Nuggets

To me, homemade chicken nuggets are SO much better than the processed ones!  These were so delicious and easy and every one of my kids ate them!

Homemade Chicken Nuggets

Source: All Recipes.com

Ingredients:

3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

1 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 tablespoon dried basil

1/2 cup butter, melted

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2.  Cut chicken breasts into 1 1/2-inch sized pieces. In a medium bowl, mix together the bread crumbs, cheese, salt, thyme and basil. Mix well. Put melted butter in a bowl or dish for dipping.

3.  Dip chicken pieces into the melted butter first, then coat with the breadcrumb mixture. Place the well-coated chicken pieces on a lightly greased cookie sheet in a single layer, and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.



Chicken Chimichangas

 I have been using this recipe for years.  It is seriously one of my favorite things to do to a tortilla.

Chicken Chimichangas

2 cups prepared shredded chicken (there are tons of ways to season and shred chicken, my favorite is probably to let it sit in the crock pot all day with some onion, water to cover, and taco seasoning mix)

1 can refried beans

2 cups chredded cheddar cheese

8-10 flour tortillas

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1.  Prepare and shred chicken.

2.  Heat refried beans.

 3.  Lay out tortillas, spread with warm refried beans, top with 1/4 cup shredded chicken and 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese.

4.  Fold ends of tortillas in and wrap tightly.

5.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees and prepare pan... okay this is the best part, so pay attention.  Cover a cookie sheet with foil, then spread a little less than 1/4 cup of cooking oil all over the pan.  Place the folded tortillas on the pan and bake for 8 minutes, then flip over and bake for another 8 minutes.  The oil makes the tortillas toasty and so good while the cheese gets ooey goey on the inside.  When you are done baking, you can just toss the foil and the pan stayed clean!  You can also make these chimichangas with just beans and cheese or with beef, or pork.

Creamy Ranch Chicken

Creamy Ranch Chicken
From: Delicious Recipes
6 slices bacon, cooked
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 T. flour
2 T. dry ranch salad dressing milk
1 1/4 C. milk
3 C. medium egg noodles
1 T. shredded Parmesan cheese

Cook chicken in a small amount of butter in a large skillet until no longer pink, turning to brown evenly. Sprinkle flour and salad dressing mix over the chicken; stir well. Stir in milk. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Add more milk if too thick. Stir in crumbled bacon.

Meanwhile, cook noodles according to package directions. Serve the chicken mixture with the noodles and sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top.

This recipe was seriously so delicious and easy to make, it is a definate do again!

Mormon Green Jello Salad

My mom made this salad ever since I could remember, and I'm pretty sure that this was passed to her by her mom.  I love it because it is so easy to make and always a crowd pleaser.

Green Jell-O Salad

Source: I think that the joke is, whenever green Jell-O is involved, it comes from the Mormons!

Ingredients:

1 can crushed pineapple

1 tub whipped cream (such as cool whip, the big tub)

1 lg. package small curd cottage cheese

1 (6 oz) pkg. Lime green Jell-O

Directions:

1.  Sprinkle Jell-O over thawed whipped cream and stir until Jell-O color is a consistent green, add crushed pineapple with juice, stir in cottage cheese.  Mix all ingredients thoroughly.

2.  Chill for several hours.  Stir before serving.

Jelly Belly $10,000 Cupcake Challenge

I just entered the Jelly Belly $10,000 cupcake challenge, and you should too!  The rules are that you have to use Jelly Belly flavored jelly beans to create and decorate a cupcake, then submit a picture and type up the directions for how you created the cupcake.  You can see my entry here:  A Fish Eat Fish World.

Or you can enter the contest for yourself here: Jelly Belly Cupcake Challenge.

Good Luck!

Squirrel it Away

When I lived in Utah, our Relief Society started a program called, "Squirrel it Away".  Our awesome relief society president even rented a squirrel costume and came and spoke to us about food storage.  It was hilarious.  Since I am such a spaz at knowing what to store and how to store it, I have found comfort in following this program, so I thought I would share it here for any other food storage spaz's to use!

This is a suggested schedule for accumulating basic food storage.  Purchase the items listed per member of your family.  Example 3 cans of corn x 4 family members = 12 cans of corn.  If your family does not eat a certain product, substitute for something similar that you like to eat.

January:
Week 1: 1 box instant mashed potatoes, 1 cake mix w/ frosting
Week 2: 1 box oatmeal, 1 jar mustard
Week 3: 1 bottle honey, 1 bottle syrup
Week 4: 4 cans tuna fish, or chicken, 1 jar miracle whip or mayonnaise

February:
Week 1: 1 jar favorite jam and 1 brownie mix
Week 2: 2 cans favorite canned meat, 1 bottle ketchup
Week 3: 1 large can chicken in broth, 2 cans pork and beans
Week 4: 2 cans beef stew or chili, 2 cans kidney beans

March:
Week 1: 3 jars applesauce, 3 cans peaches
Week 2: 1 bottle vegetable oil, 1 can shortening
Week 3: 3 cans favorite fruit

April:
Week 1: 1 large package of favorite drink mix
Week 2: 1 large box instant milk
Week 3: 1 large box Tang or orange drink mix
Week 4: 1 bottle of vitamins

May:
Week 1: 1 bottle peroxide, 1 bottle isopropyl alcohol
Week 2: tube of first aid cream, bag of cotton balls
Week 3: roll of first aid tape, rolled ace bandage
Week 4: dish soap

June:
Week 1: laundry soap
Week 2: 2 bars bath soap
Week 3: bleach & stain remover
Week 4: tube of toothpaste, mouthwash

July:
Week 1: shampoo, conditioner, other hair products
Week 2: feminine hygiene items, diapers
Week 3: napkins, paper cups, plastic utensils
Week 4: paper plates, trash bags

August:
Week 1: toothbrush, band-aids
Week 2: toilet paper, baby wipes
Week 3: batteries, flashlights
Week 4: waterproof matches, candles

September:
Week 1: 5 lbs sugar and 1 box powdered sugar
Week 2: 5 lbs flour and 1 jar yeast
Week 3: 2 lbs brown sugar and 2 lbs salt
Week 4: baking powder, baking soda, and 1 box foil

October:
Week 1: 3 cans of corn, 3 boxes of jello
Week 2: 3 cans peas, 3 boxes of pudding
Week 3: 3 cans string beans, jar of pickles
Week 4: 3 cans tomatoes, 3 spaghetti seasoning packets

November:
Week 1: 4 cans cream of chicken soup, 1 jar salad dressing
Week 2: 4 cans chicken noodle soup, 1 jar chicken stock
Week 3: 4 cans cream of mushroom soup, 4 cans of refried beans

December:
Week 1: 3 cans of favorite soup, 1 box saran wrap
Week 2: 2 lbs macaroni, 2 lbs spaghetti
Week 3: 2 lbs rice, 2 cans of yam or pumpkin
Week 4: 1 jar peanut butter, 1 box Ziplock bags

Other items you may need:
medications
journal
first aid manual
cleaning supplies
light bulbs
disposable razors