Tag: easy

Honey Bunches of Oats Chicken


I’m always looking for new (and easy) ways to make baked chicken, and have experimented recently in the kitchen with crackers and cereal. Last night, it was Honey Bunches of Oats, and I am so pleased with how it turned out. And talk about simple… only three ingredients!!

Honey Bunches of Oats Chicken

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. thin chicken breast or tenders
  • 1 egg
  • 2 cups Honey Bunches of Oats cereal, finely crushed

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375° F.
  2. Lightly beat egg in a shallow bowl.
  3. Put cereal in a Ziploc bag, crush with rolling pin, or your hands, then transfer to a plate or bowl.
  4. Dip chicken in egg, turning to evenly coat.
  5. Roll chicken in cereal crumbs on both sides.
  6. Place in a baking dish, or on a cookie sheet, lightly sprayed with cooking spray.
  7. Bake for 25 minutes, or until chicken is fully cooked.

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Unsloppy Joes


I saw a commercial a few days ago for Pillsbury Grands Biscuits and this recipe, and knew I had to try it since Sloppy Joes were a staple when I was growing up (thanks Mom!). I still love them, but nowadays, I make them from scratch… most of the time. If I’m pinched for time, or simply being lazy (it happens), then I turn to my trusted Manwich Sloppy Joe sauce. With that being said, this old-school recipe taken to a new level, uses the canned sauce so it can prepared in a flash, which makes it perfect for a weeknight or when time is of the essence.

Make sure to scroll to the bottom for an additional way to make these 🙂

Unsloppy Joes

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. lean ground beef, cooked, drained
  • 1 can (15 oz) Manwich sloppy joe sauce
  • 1 tsp. chili powder
  • 1 can (16.3 oz) Pillsbury® Grands!® refrigerated biscuits
  • 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (2 oz)

Directions

  1. Heat oven to 375° F.
  2. In large skillet, cook ground beef over medium-high heat until beef is thoroughly cooked, stirring frequently; drain.
  3. Stir in sauce and chili powder; simmer 5 minutes.
  4. Cut biscuit in half and press bottom into 6-inch round.
  5. Spoon 1/3 cup meat mixture and about 1 tbsp. cheese onto center of each round.
  6. Take top half of biscuit and press it out so it’s approximately the same size as the bottom, and place over filling; press sides to seal. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.
  7. Bake 9 to 14 minutes or until golden brown.

* If you want it saucier, use only 3/4 lb. beef. To add a little heat, if you so desire, add a skosh of cayenne pepper to the sauce. Also, feel free to add a bit of onion and/or garlic powder while cooking the beef. 

Another idea, which I think is really cute & just came up with, is making this a muffin. Simply cut the biscuit in half, spread the dough out enough so when you put it in the muffin tin, the sides go up to the top, then fill with sloppy joe and top with some cheese.

Sloppy Joe Muffin

 

If you have any leftover Sloppy Joe, put it into muffin cups, stick the pan in the freezer until frozen, remove from pan, place into a ziplock bag & return to freezer. Each frozen sloppy joe “muffin” should be equivalent to a single serving when defrosted and reheated.

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Maple Glazed Carrots


Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope today finds you blessed with an abundance of love, happiness, and of course, food. This year, I’m having a very low-key day by celebrating the holiday at home with just my pet family, but I’m still planning on having a scrumptious dinner with the traditional fixin’s. I always make carrots as one of my side dishes, and usually cook them with some honey, but decided to try them with maple syrup last night. I only taste-tested a couple, as I’m saving them for today’s “big” feast, but they were amazing. And, the fact that there’s only four ingredients and are super easy to make, is an added bonus!

Ingredients

  • Approximately 25 baby carrots
  • 2 tbsp. butter
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 2 tbsp. pure maple syrup

Directions

  1. Bring a medium pot of water to boil. Add carrots and cook until tender, about 3 to 5 minutes. Drain & set aside.
  2. Combine butter, 1/4 cup water, and maple syrup  in large skillet over medium-low heat.
  3. When butter is melted, mix in carrots and cover. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to simmer.
  4. Cook until most of liquid evaporates, stirring frequently, approximately 8 minutes.
  5. Uncover, stir, and cook one more minute.
  6. Enjoy!

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Cocktail Sauce


I recently bought some shrimp to make another batch of my (yummy) shrimp stew, and had about a dozen leftover, which immediately led to thoughts of devouring having shrimp cocktail. Then I realized, I didn’t have any cocktail sauce in the house, and figured I could just whip some up. After making this recipe, I probably won’t ever buy ready-made again! Oh, and I love that it takes about two minutes to make! Easy peasy!

Ingredients

  • 5 tbsp. Ketchup
  • 2 tbsp. chili sauce (I used Huy Fong chili garlic sauce since I had it on hand – original recipe calls for Heinz)
  • 1 1/2 tbsp. prepared horseradish (or more if you want to increase the heat)
  • 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp. brown sugar

Directions

  1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
  2. Chill in refrigerator until ready to serve.
Recipe adapted from Ina Garten-Barefoot Contessa

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Parmesan Crusted Chicken


I am always looking for quick and easy recipes that are healthy, and was excited when I came across this one. It will be perfect for those times when I get home from work and don’t want to fuss in the kitchen. And I love the fact that it has only four ingredients, is ready in 30 minutes and is very tasty!

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup Hellmann’s® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise *
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 1-1/4 lbs.)
  • 4 tsp. Italian seasoned breadcrumbs

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 425°.
  2. Combine Hellmann’s® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise with cheese in a medium bowl.
  3. Arrange chicken on a baking sheet with a little cooking spray. Evenly top with mayonnaise mixture, then sprinkle with bread crumbs.
  4. Bake 20 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked.

* To make this even healthier, use light, fat-free or canola mayonnaise.

Note: My personal preference is to cover the entire pieces of chicken in the mixture, instead of just on the top. Also feel free to use additional spices like garlic, salt & pepper, oregano, parsley, etc. in the mayo mix.

Serves 4

Recipe courtesy of Best Foods

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Tortilla Pizza


This next recipe is one of my favorites that I created, Tortilla Pizza. One day, I was craving some pizza, but didn’t want to order one, so, as I usually have flour tortillas on hand, I decided I’d just throw some sauce and toppings on one and toss it in the oven. I had to play around with the temperature and timing to get it just the way I like (crispy), but now, it’s a staple in my kitchen. I love the fact that it’s obviously very low in carbs and can be made any way that you like, with very few or lots of toppings. It’s amazingly simple and a really nice, quick meal! The one pictured below is simply my pizza sauce, a few different cheeses, sliced tomatoes and caramalized onions (or onion marmalade).

Ingredients

  • 1 flour tortilla (I use medium size)
  • Pizza/pasta sauce to cover tortilla (use according to personal preference)
  • 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese mix
  • 1 Roma tomato, sliced thin
  • Caramelized onions 
  • Parmesean cheese

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350F.
  2. Put tortilla on baking sheet.
  3. Spread sauce over tortilla, getting close to the sides.
  4. Sprinkle shredded cheese blend over sauce.
  5. Put tomato slices on top on top of cheese.
  6. Add caramelized onions, using as little or as much as you like.
  7. Sprinkle parmesean cheese over entire pizza.
  8. Bake about 20 minutes, a little longer for crispier crust.

As I mentioned, you can use whatever toppings that suit your fancy. Another favorite combination that I like is using pieces of goat cheese, some sundried tomatoes, fresh mint and fresh basil. Oh so good!

Enjoy!

Crazy For Cranberries


Here’s a simply amazing recipe for cranberry sauce that you can whip up in no time for the holidays!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup sugar (1/2 cup white, 1/2 cup brown)
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 4 cups cranberries (1 12 oz pkg)
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp allspice

Directions

  1. In a saucepan, bring water, orange juice and sugar to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar.
  2. Add cranberries and return to a boil.
  3. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until cranberries burst.
  4. Add spices and stir well.
  5. Remove from heat and cool completely at room temperature.
  6.  Chill in the refrigerator. Sauce will thicken as it cools.

Simply Sorbet


So, do you all know the difference between sorbet and sherbet? Sherbet contains milk or another fat, making it similar to ice cream. With that being said, obviously sorbet is great for people who are lactose-intolerant. And with just a small number of ingredients, it is truly a breeze to make.  My recipe below is for strawberry sorbet, but feel free to use your favorite fruit instead.

Recipe courtesty of Cooking Light

Ingredients

  • 2 cups water
  • 1 cup sugar (you can use less if you like)
  • 1 quart strawberries, hulled
  • 1/3 cup fresh orange juice
  • 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (or lime juice)

Directions

  1. Stir water and sugar in heavy medium saucepan over high heat until sugar dissolves.
  2. Boil 5 minutes.
  3. Working in batches, puree strawberries in food processor or blender until smooth.
  4. Add strawberry puree and orange & lemon juices to sugar syrup, stir to blend.
  5.  Cover and freeze in an airtight container(s).

To soften sorbet, place in fridge for 15 minutes.

Taking this to a higher level of dessert awesomeness, you can use your sorbet to make a pie. Here’s how: spread slightly softened sorbet into a cookie-crumb or graham cracker crust, then freeze until firm. Top with a thin layer of whipped cream and sprinkle with chocolate shavings or add some fresh berries.