Menu Monday - Sweet & Sour Meatballs

Wow...my little wanna' be cooking blog just hit 1000 viewers today. I know that doesn't sound like much, but it still makes me feel good. Ü  Thanks to everyone who keeps coming back! Hopefully you're enjoying some of my recipes.
The recipe I want to share today is probably one that most people have heard of by now, but out there somewhere, is someone looking for that quick, throw it together meal. I love this one because it's pretty versatile and it really doesn't get much easier than this.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs
1 16 oz pkg frozen meatballs or homemade meatballs (depends on what I have in the freezer)
1  12 oz bottle chili sauce
1  18 oz jar grape jelly (or 16 oz can jellied cranberry sauce if you want your sauce more tangy)

Combine jelly and chili sauce in a crock pot set on high heat. Mix in the meatballs. Cook on high for 1 - 2 hours or low for up to 6 hours. We love to serve them over rice.

It doesn't get much easier than that! I've also made them in a pan on the stove top and cooked until the meatballs were heated through and they still tasted great. I've also used Popcorn Chicken in place of the meatballs and the kids loved it! (Just don't cook as long.) This is definitely one quick meal I always try to have in my pantry/freezer for those days when the menu plan just isn't going to happen. And I never have to worry about the picky eaters...there's rarely any leftovers!

Here's the menu for this week...
MONDAY - Chicken Alfredo, Green Salad, Bread
TUESDAY - Orange Chicken, Teriyaki Rice, Mixed Veggies
WEDNESDAY - Leftovers
THURSDAY - Spaghetti, Green Salad, Garlic Bread
FRIDAY - French Toast Casserole, Fresh Fruit
SATURDAY - Loaded Beef Nachos
SUNDAY - Beef Chuck Roast, Smashed Potatoes, Brown Sugar Carrots, Rolls

Have a great week!!

Pineapple Mango Salsa and Sticky Buffalo Chicken

Pineapple Mango Salsa and Sticky Buffalo Chicken
When I went to pick up my Bountiful Basket order Saturday morning, I was a little worried about the 7 mangoes I was taking home. I had no idea what I was going to do with them all. So, I started searching Tasty Kitchen for mango recipes and found one that I knew I wanted to try. It was Pineapple Mango Salsa from The Pioneer Woman and Oh. My. Goodness. It was sooo good! I added an extra mango just because I was a little worried about them going bad before I could use them all, but we liked it so much I think I'm going to make more for an Easter get together this weekend. Go check out that there link and make ya some Pineapple Mango Salsa....yum! If you have a favorite way to use mango, give me a holler! I'd love some more ideas :)

The other day I realized that I had promised Buckaroo #1 that I would share the recipe for his favorite chicken right now. He loves his Sticky Buffalo Chicken and wishes I would make it every week. He doesn't usually like anything with any kind of a kick to it, so I was really surprised that he liked it so much. Maybe I'll start sneaking in a little more heat each time I make it and see if I can spice him up just a bit. Ü
I love how easy this recipe is...

Sticky Buffalo Chicken
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup water
2 Tbs Franks Red Hot Buffalo Wings Sauce- add more or less if ya want to
1 lb breaded chicken tenders (At my local grocery store, the meat dept sells bulk "chicken fritters" and they are more bite size pieces.)

Bake or fry the chicken according to the instructions on the package. (Just so ya know, I bake mine.)
In a sauce pan, combine the remaining ingredients and cook over medium heat, stirring until the brown sugar dissolves. Cook about 15-20 minutes until it starts to thicken.
When the chicken is done, transfer it into a large bowl and pour the sauce over the top. Carefully toss the chicken to make sure all the pieces are coated with the sauce.
Serve with extra sauce, ranch dressing or blue cheese dressing for dipping.
Tasty stuff I tell ya!

Before I get to carried away posting recipes, here's what I have on the menu this week...
MONDAY - Chicken Bow Tie Salad
TUESDAY - Evil Chicken and Rice, Green Beans
WEDNESDAY - Leftover Buffet
THURSDAY - Joyce Gale Casserole, Green Salad
FRIDAY - Belgian Waffles with Fresh Fruit and Whipped Cream
SATURDAY - Easter Picnic with family
SUNDAY - Easter dinner

Have a fun holiday weekend!

WHITE CHICKEN CHILI

Ahhhh, fall...I love the smell, the colors, the cooler weather and of course soup. Or in this case CHILI! One of my friends brought this recipe for one of our first Recipe Club dinners and it was so good. I hadn't ever tried Chicken Chili before and was totally hooked. It was chunky but creamy and oh so good!
When I made it at home, I just threw it together in my Crock Pot and it was super easy, something I would consider a Lickity Split meal in a Crock Pot or on the stove top. The best part is that when I made it for my family...they ate it. Woo Hoo! 
If you have a favorite chili recipe that you're willing to share, leave me a comment. I'd love to try it out. (Plus, then I would know if anyone is reading my craziness here. Hehe!)
Enjoy the CHILI!

WHITE CHICKEN CHILI

1 Tbs Olive Oil
1/2 cup Onion, diced
2 cans Great Northern Beans, undrained
2 cups Chicken (or turkey), cooked and diced
2 cups Chicken Broth
3/4 cup Salsa, (Use your favorite. You can also adjust your heat/spice this way.)
1 tsp Dried Oregano
1/2 tsp Celery Salt
1 1/2 cups Mozzarella Cheese, shredded

Heat olive oil over medium heat.
Add onions and cook until tender.
Add remaining ingredients, except cheese.
Heat on medium, stirring occasionally, until it comes to a simmer.
Add cheese one handful at at time, stirring to let it melt.
And you're done.

To make in a Crock Pot, I started cooking the onions and added the all but the cheese while they were sizzling away. I like to dice and cook a whole bunch of chicken breasts at one and then divide it up to keep handy in the freezer, so I just tossed in a few cups of that. Then I let it cook on low for a while just to heat it through, then I turned it to warm until dinner time. Soooo easy. Gotta love it!

Mushroom Swiss Burger

We really like to grill hamburgers at our house, and even though the kiddos are all fine with a plain old CHEESEBURGER, I like to switch mine up a bit. Tonight I really liked the concoction I put together. It's pretty SIMPLE, but that's what is so nice about it. Now if you go with the ONION RINGS too, well that takes a little bit of the SIMPLE out of it. But, DANG, they were good. Here we go...

Obviously, you will need some hamburger buns. I'm really liking Judy's Hamburger Buns (I got mine at Macey's) They are sooo good! I've also used Sandwich Thins and it still makes a great burger with not so many calories. :)
Choose you Ground Beef. I usually buy Lean. Extra Lean can make a good burger too, if you shred a little fresh onion and mix it in before you cook it. It helps add a little moisture and I love he flavor that it gives the beef.
The Trail Boss LOVES Spade L Steak Seasoning. (You can usually find it by the meat counter.) I usually throw several Tbs in the ground beef and mix it up. Then you can form your patties and give 'em a grill.
For my burger tonight, I used my Spicy Honey Mustard, a slice of Swiss Cheese (not the processed stuff), and some Sauteed Mushrooms.
That's it! I told you it was SIMPLE. Oh, I guess maybe I should tell you how to make the Spicy Honey Mustard, huh. It's one of those little sauce recipes that you can make to your own liking. I use about 1 cup of Mayo, a couple of squirts of Yellow Mustard (I'm guessing 3-4 Tbs), Honey (3-4 Tbs) and Horseradish. Yup, Horseradish. That's where you decide how much. Start with a tsp or so and keep adding until it has enough heat for ya. (I probably use 2-3 Tbs, at least.) You could leave out the Horseradish if it scares ya, but it makes it sooo good. Ya gotta at least give it a try.

This is how it came out...

At this point, let me remind you that I am NOT a professional photographer, and that this picture does NOT do it justice. That thing was gooin' all over the place. And as for the onion rings, I'll save that for another post.

ENJOY!

Skillet Cordon Bleu

Well, I've been thinking about doing a blog with my favorite recipies for a while now. Hopefully I can keep up with posting a few each week. I might even try to be helpful and post my weekly menu for those of you who get stuck in a dinner rut.


So, here we go...


There's one meal at our house that is sure to please everyone. I've done a bit of tweaking over the years but it has always been one that doesn't get left on anyone's plate. It's called Skillet Chicken Cordon Bleu. We usually have salad or green beans on the side and sometimes Garlic Toast. Hopefully you'll like it as much as we do.



SKILLET CHICKEN CORDON BLEU


1 lb diced chicken

2 cans cream of chicken soup

2 cups diced ham

1 cup of milk

1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese - Sometimes I add a little more...just 'cause they like it.

Salt and pepper to taste.


Cook diced chicken until juices run clear. Add ham, soup, cheese, salt and pepper. Cook on medium low until cheese is melted.

Serve over rice or egg noodles.

Pretty easy, huh? My family LOVES this stuff. It freezes pretty well too, if you're one that likes to double up a recipe and freeze it for later. I don't have a picture -sorry- but I'll try to do pictures with my recipes from now on.

If ya' like it, leave me a comment so I know someone is actually reading my little blog. Thanks for checkin' it out! :)