German Pancakes

These pancakes are probably one my favorite breakfast foods. Chase never had them before till we got married and now he request them all the time. Doesn't matter what time of day it is, dinner, lunch, breakfast, he will eat them whenever. They are also so easy to make and a great thing to make for a lot of people! Enjoy!

German Pancakes

6 eggs

1 cup of milk

1 cup of flour

6 T. of butter

1/2 t of salt

Preheat oven at 400. Put butter in a 9x13 pan and place in oven for butter to melt. This is a must! you want the pan nice and hot when you pour the pancakes into it. Mix together remaining ingredients. Once butter is melted remove and add mixed ingredients and place back in oven for 15-20 min. These pancakes get really big! the bigger the better :) kids love watching it. Enjoy with syrup!

Spaghetti Casserole

This meal was really easy to make and really good! It is Marsha's recipe and I followed almost the whole thing except I used Sun Dried tomato Chicken Sausage from Trader Joe's (pork free with no casings) and just cut it into slices. James loved the zucchini and Haws loved the sausage :)

6 oz. Italian Turkey Sausage, casing removed (or slice up chicken sausage. You can really use what ever meat you like!)

2 small zucchini, sliced

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 (14.5oz) can stewed tomatoes

3 oz. spaghetti, broken into 1 inch pieces

1/2 c. water

1/4 c. Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375. Spray a 2 quart casserole dish with cooking spray. Over medium, heat sausage, zucchini and onion, breaking up with spoon and cooking until zucchini is crisp and tender and sausage is no longer pink. About 10 minutes. Drain juices. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes, spaghetti and water. Transfer to prepared casserole dish, covering spaghetti with the liquid. Cover casserole with foil and bake 30 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan and let stand for 5 minutes.

Lasagna

Lasagna
1 lg onion Chopped
2 tsp. crushed garlic
1/4 cup oil (I used about 1/2 T. olive oil)
1 1/2 lbs ground meat and/or sausage
1 T. chopped parsley
1 large can tomatoes
1 15oz can tomato sauce
1 sm. can tomato paste
salt an dpepper
4 bay leaves
2 T. brown sugar

Saute the onion and garlic in oil (or olive oil). Ad the ground beef and parsley and brown. Drain off any fat. Then add the remaining ingredients and cook on low for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cook your lasagna noodles according to the package directions - or get the no boil kind.

Cheese Sauce
1 sm. onion, chopped fine 3 T. flour
4 T. butter 2 c. milk
2 egg yolks 3/4 c. Parmesan cheese

Cook the onion in butter a few minutes. Then mix in the flour until smooth. Add grated Parmesan cheese and a dash of salt. Gradually stir in the milk, stirring constantly until it is a thick cream. In a seperate bowl, sightly beat the egg yolks. Then mix in a little hot cheese source before adding the eggs to the cheese sauce. Cook on low heat for 10 minutes.

To assemble the lasagna, layer the noodles in a 9x13 pan. (I put a little tomato sauce under the noodles). Then pour half of the tomato sauce over the noodles, followed by the cheese sauce over that. Repeat the noodles and tomato sauce and cover with grated mozzarella cheese. Bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

We thought the lasagna was very yummy. It also wasn't as labor intensive as other lasagnas I've made before. We'll definitely make this one again.

Chicken Tomato Bisque

It rained this week. What is up with rain in the middle of May??? I didn't really mind it, it just was weird. But it did put me in the mood for some soup. I love soup as a main dish. It's healthy, filling and warms you up when you are a little chilly. This soup was delicious! I topped my with some tri-colored tortilla strips. You could serve some warm, crusty bread with it too for the perfect meal.

1 TB. olive oil

1 carrot chopped

1 medium onion

2 cloves garlic minced

1/4 c. flour

1 (28oz) can whole tomatoes or diced with juice

1 1/2 c. chicken broth

1 tsp. chopped oregano

1/4 c. heavy cream

1 tsp. salt

2 c. shredded, cooked chicken breast

Heat pot over med-high heat, combine oil, carrot, onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally until onions are soft (6-8 min). Stir in flour until vegetables are all coated. Add tomatoes, broth nd 1/2 tsp. oregano, stir. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 8-10 min. Working in small batches, puree soup in blender or food processor and then transfer back into pot. Stir in chicken, cream and salt and heat through. Season to taste with pepper and garnish with remaining oregano.

Cafe Rio Pork

For my son Joshua's birthday he said he wanted "Spaghetti with meatballs and pasta with basil on it (pesto)."  We were celebrating with family on Sunday after church, and since we don't get out until 4pm and everyone was coming over at 5pm, I wanted to do something that required a little less prep time.  Since he loves going to Cafe Rio, it was easy to have him switch his order to Cafe Rio Pork.  I was even able to cook it the day before in the crockpot, then heat it up Sunday after church.

Cafe Rio Pork

6 lbs pork (tenderloin works best)

1 16oz bottle salsa

1 can Coke

2 c. brown sugar

This recipe was so simple.  I was skeptical as to how good it would turn out, but it was sweet and delicious.  All you do is put the pork in a crockpot and add water to fill it half way up the pork.  Cook the pork on high for five hours, then drain off the water, cut your pork into thirds, mix the Salsa, Coke, and sugar, and poor it in.  Cook everything for 3 more hours. Finally shred your pork with a fork and you're ready to serve. 

We served the pork with tortillas, black beans, rice, lettace, tomatoes, and cheese.  Though the recipe for the Cafe Rio Salad Dressing is in the cookbook, I took the easy route and picked it up from Cafe Rio.  They sell their dressing for $5.99 a pint - which I think is a pretty good deal!

Chinese Chicken Ramen Salad

I was in the mood for a crunchy salad and I came upon this great recipe. It is perfect! the textures are great, the dressing just goes with it perfectly. I was afraid to make it because Chase hates salad and if I made this I wanted it to be the main course ( I am to tired to make anything else haha ). But i was pleasantly surprised when I went in for seconds Chase was already having thirds! He loved this salad and that says a lot!

4 Chicken breast cooked and shredded

2 heads of lettuce

6 scallions

2 pkgs. top ramen noodles ( don't use the flavor)

4 T. slivered almonds

4 T. sesame seeds

tear lettuce into pieces. Put into large bowl and add scallions. Break top ramen noodles into small pieces and add to lettuce. Toast Almonds at 350 for 5 minutes on a cookie sheet. Put Almonds, chicken, and sesame seeds with lettuce.

Dressing:

3/4 C. seasoned vinegar

1/2 C. Sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1 C. Vegetable oil

Combine vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. Shake in tupperware container until sugar is dissolved. Slowly add oil to mix. Pour over salad and toss. Enjoy!

Tami's "Lime" Chicken

I say "Lime" because when I went to make this I realized I had lemon juice instead of lime juice. So the recipe I made was actually for lemon chicken. It is good either way! This chicken recipe is easy and a crowd pleaser. It is very versitile. You can use it for tacos, salads or however you like! It is also good just on it's own.

Tami's Lime Chicken (or lemon)

1/2 c. fresh lime or lemon juice

1/2 c. white vinegar

1/2 c. oil ( I used about half this)

1/2 c. soy sauce

1 1/2 tsp. seasoned salt

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 c. worcestershire sauce

1/4 c. sesame seeds

6-8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Mix all ingredients. Marinate chicken for 3 hours or overnight (the longer the better in my opinion). Barbeque chicken. Serve whole or slice into thin slices.

Fresh Strawberry Dessert

I love this one. It was my first time making it - even though my Mother-in-Law gave me the recipe 8 years ago at a bridal shower. It just looked too complicated for me to try sooner. But I was craving it this week and I had to make dinner for a friend, so I decided to tackle it.

Fresh Strawberry Dessert

2 pkgs vanilla cream-filled cookies (my package - Ralphs brand - was twice the size of the oreo's so I just needed one)

1 1/2 c. chopped nuts

3 baskets fresh stawberries sliced in halves or thirds

2 c. wipped cream, whipped and sweetened

Filling:

1 c. butter, softened

2 c. powdered sugar

4 eggs, seperated

1/4 c. lemon juice

Crush your cookies in a food processor. Then layer them (about a 1/2 layer) in the bottom or a 9 x 13 pan. You'll have cookies left over. Sprinkle your nuts on top. (I'm sorry to admit that I just don't like the nuts layer, so I left it out.)

Now for the filling - Beat the butter, powdered sugar and egg yolks until smooth. Then add the lemon juice. In a seperate bowl beat the egg whites until stiff. Then fold the two mixtures together. Spread the filling on top of your crumbs (and nuts). Then add your sliced strawberries. You can do one or two layers of strawberries. This time I did one and next time I'm definitely doing two. I LOVE the fresh strawberries! Whip your cream and sweeten with powdered sugar. (give it a taste to tell if it's sweetened enough). Then spread it on top of the stawberries. Finally add some more cookie crumbs on top of the whipped cream. (I had my 4 year old help me with that, and we went a little crazy!)

I think this dessert tastes best after a couple of hours in the fridge. You can even make it the day before. It honestly wasn't as scary as I thought it was going to be. And it's one of my favorite desserts for this season of yummy strawberries!

Taco Soup

I make taco soup way too often...But it's just so easy!

Taco Soup
2 lbs ground beef (1 lb ground beef)
1 onion, chopped
1 15 oz can kidney beans, with liquid

1 15 oz can pinto beans, with liquid

2 15 oz cans stewed tomatoes with liquid
1 15 oz can tomato sauce (15 oz V8 juice)
1 pkg. taco seasoning

The original recipe is in black, the green are my substitutions/ additions to the recipe. I like my taco soup with more beans, and less meat. The V8 juice is just out of convenience - we don't keep canned tomato sauce on hand. To make this soup, just brown the ground beef and chopped onions with salt and pepper. Then add all your canned ingredients, including their liquid, and the taco seasoning. Simmer for 30 minutes - or in a crockpot for several hours. Serve it up with sour cream, grated cheese, and some chips. This also a super easy way to feed a big crowd.

Healthy Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas

Since I am not drinking any Margarita's today... I decided to make to make Enchiladas in honor of Cinco de Mayo. These chicken and cheese enchiladas are my own recipe, therefore they are made with a healthy twist :) There are two ways I do the sauce. One as explained in the recipe or I cheat and buy the enchilada sauce from Trader Joe's. It is delicious and makes it easy when I am making a lot of enchiladas like I did this time around.

Lori's Healthy Chicken Enchiladas

3 c. cooked chicken breast, shredded

10-12 low carb wheat tortillas

1 can healthy request cream of chicken soup

1-2 TB. Taco seasoning

2 c. light shredded Mexican cheese blend

1 c. plain greek yogurt ( or light sour cream)

1 pkg. Lawrys Enchilada sauce ( prepared with water and 1, 6oz. can of tomato paste)

OR cheat and use Trader Joe's enchilada sauce.

Mix soup, yogurt, chicken, taco seasoning and 1 to 1 1/2 c cheese together and set aside. Spray 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Fill tortillas (about 3 TB of mixture), roll and place tortillas into pan. Pour the prepared Enchilada sauce over the top of the enchiladas and top with remaining cheese. Bake covered at 350 for 30 minutes and then uncovered for 15-20 min or until bubbling.

Enjoy!

Vegetable Dip

This dip is just the prefect side to any vegetables you have. It is delicious! I make it for almost any occasion and it makes a ton! i love having it left over cause it just makes me eat my vegetables more even though the dip kind of counter acts with the healthiness of the vegetables :). Piece of advice, make this a day before so the flavors mix together. Enjoy!

2 C. mayonnaise

2 C. of sour cream

1 lg pkg of ranch buttermilk recipe dressing mix

2 C. finely grated cheddar cheese