Monthly Archives: March, 2013

Jalapeño Spinach Cream Cheese Stuffed Chicken

Not only was this a long weekend and Easter Weekend, it was also the first Monday of the month, which means Canton Trade Days was going on this weekend.  I was looking on Facebook and saw a notice reminding me about the events in Canton and decided to take an impromptu trip out there to see what they had.  I was so excited when I found some fun flip flop sandals for myself.  They had a really good deal in one of the booths to buy two and get the third pair for a reduced rate.  Since I really only liked two of the pairs they had, I bought the third pair for my sister.  I think my favorites were the ones that I got her, but they didn’t have that style in my size.  I’ve already worn both pairs I bought two times, and my sister wore hers for Easter brunch, so I’d say the trip to Canton was a success!!

20130331-163041.jpg

20130331-163111.jpgThe zebra ones next tot he pink flip flops are the ones I got my sister.

20130331-163240.jpg

These aren’t the ones I bought my sister, but they are very similar.

I saw a stuffed chicken on pinterest and even though it looked a little fancy for my cooking skills, I decided to give it a try.  It really was an easy recipe and I have to say one of the best things I’ve made. I’m pretty sure it’s all the cheese that is in the stuffing that made it taste so good.  The only advice I have is to remember to take the toothpick out when it’s done cooking.  I learned that one the hard way!!

Ingredients:

Chicken breasts
Block of Cream Cheese
Cheddar Jack Cheese
Spinach
2 Jalapeños
Garlic
Lemon Pepper
Paprika

I didn’t put any amounts because I just put in the amounts I liked. I only used 2 Jalapeños and I just put a spoonful of minced garlic that was already preminced from the grocery store.

DSCN0907
Cut the jalapeños in to small pieces.  I cut out all the seeds first.  You can leave a few in if you like it kind of spicy.DSCN0908
Sautee the jalapeños and garlic in olive oil.  This was way too much olive oil and I had to drain it. DSCN0909
Add Spinach to the sauteed jalapeños and garlic.DSCN0911

Put cream cheese, cheese and sautéed spinach jalapeno mix in a bowl and mix it up.
DSCN0912
It will look something like this.  This is what you stuff inside the chicken.DSCN0913
Cut the chicken in half like a pocket.  Do not cut all the way through.

DSCN0914
Stuff the chicken and poke a toothpick through it to cook it through.
DSCN0915
Top off the chicken with lemon pepper and paprika
DSCN0919
Cook in the oven on 375 for about 45 minutes or until cooked through.

Again, DON’T FORGET to take out the toothpicks!!!!!

Advertisement

Crescent Roll Breakfast Casserole

I love getting to cook Sunday breakfasts for my family, but I want to find a way to mix it up a little. I ordered a waffle maker from Amazon.com, but it didn’t show up in time for me to make waffles. I looked online for another breakfast casserole and I found one that was very similar to the last one I made, but just different enough to make it something new. Luckily, I have 3 weeks until the next time I have to cook for everyone. I’m pretty sure my waffle maker will be here by then!!

Ingredients

12 eggs
1 cup of cheese (or more if you like a lot of cheese like I do)
1 tube of sausage
1 tube of crescent rolls
Salt
Pepper

DSCN0895

Brown the SausageDSCN0896

Put Pam on a casserole dish and then roll out the crescent roll on to the dish. DSCN0897

Mix eggs, cheese, salt, and pepper in a bowl.DSCN0898

Put cooked sausage on the crescent roll.DSCN0900

Crescent Roll Breakfast

Crescent Roll Breakfast Casserole

Pour the egg/cheese mix over the sausage

Bake on 350 for 45 minutes or until cooked through.

20130320-131144.jpg

Dash Down Greenville

One of the best things Dallas does is the St. Patrick’s Day parade and run. I wasn’t too sure I was going to go this year, but I’m glad I did. This was probably the first time I ever ran a whole 5K. I almost always get tired and have to walk. My friend ran with me and kept me going, so I didn’t want to embarrass myself. At about 2.5 miles, she took off and I could have quit, but I kept going. I got a text telling me I could do it right at about the same time I was about to start walking and that kept me going until I crossed the finish line! Since I ran the whole way, I think it was my fastest 5k, too. I did it in 32.39 minutes. I came in 41/142 in my age division, 2146/4253 overall, 853/2349 in gender. I’m so proud!! Thank you to those of you that helped push me to run the whole thing!!!

Next week is the Rock and Roll Half Marathon.  I can assure you I won’t be running all of that!!! 🙂

20130316-160101.jpg

20130316-160116.jpg

20130316-160132.jpg

20130316-160202.jpg

Easy Mexican Casserole

I always say that Mexican food is my favorite food, but in reality it probably isn’t. I only really like nachos and fajitas.  It doesn’t really matter though, most Mexican food places have both of them on the menu. Even knowing this, for some reason, when I’m looking for recipes, I always seem to look for something that falls under the Mexican food umbrella.  To be honest, I’m not really sure what actually makes something Mexican food versus just regular food…I just knew I wanted to make a casserole that could last me for about a week.  Of course, I looked on Pinterest for the easiest “Mexican” casseroles I could find.  This one was adapted from a pin from Trickchef’s blog.  I don’t know that this could be defined as a true casserole or if it is more of a cooked seven layer dip.  Either way, it was really yummy and I highly recommend it for people on the go, like I seem to be!

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground beef
2 cups salsa
3 cups tortilla chips, crushed
2 cups sour cream
1 (2 ounce) can sliced black olives, drained
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1/2 cup chopped fresh tomato
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
DSCN0885

Brown the ground beef until there is no more pink in the middle.  Add salsa to the meat after it’s cooked and let it simmer until there is no liquid.
DSCN0887
Spray pam on the bottom of the casserole dish, then crush up some chips to cover the bottom of the dish.

DSCN0888
Put the meat sauce over the chips

DSCN0889
Cover the meat with sour cream

DSCN0890
Cover the sour cream with olives, tomatoes, green onions, cilantro

DSCN0891
Cover with cheese and put in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes

DSCN0893
Take out of the oven and get ready to chow down!

DSCN0894This was a delicious meal.  It lasted about a week for me. I doubt it will last longer than that for a party of dos.

Nutribullet Salsa

I love my Nutribullet. I have been making a smoothie every morning for breakfast since I got it.  I have been wanting to try something different with it and decided salsa made the most sense for someone that craves chips all the time.  This was really an easy recipe and a lot of fun to make. The salsa should last for at least 7 days, but I finished it in 2.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup red onion
2 jalapeños, seeds removed (or you can keep them in for more heat)
1 tsp of minced garlic
1, 14.5 oz can of Diced Tomatoes
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cumin
1 tsp lime juice
small handful of cilantro

DSCN0878

Put the ingredients in the nutribullet and blend until you get your desired consistency.

DSCN0884Pour in a bowl and enjoy with some chips!

I lost my keys

I’m always losing my keys at the bottom of my purse. Every morning I am digging and digging, but now I have a better system. I bought this key holder from Amazon, so now when I come in the house I will just put my keys on my new key rack. I looked at hundreds of them online, and decided this one was the cutest one they had.

20130306-005258.jpg

Hummus Crusted Chicken and Vegetables

I love to ride my bike, but I don’t feel safe riding on the streets, so I didn’t ride much when I was in Austin.  Since I’ve been back in Dallas, I have been trying to take advantage of being so close to White Rock Lake.  I rode around the lake this weekend, and saw a link to another trail.  I tried the new route called the Santa Fe Trail.  I went as far as Beacon St. and decided to turn around. I still have no idea how far that trail goes.  Once I got back to where I started, I made my way around the lake fighting the wind, but that silly old wind had nothing on me.  I beat the wind! It was a lot of fun and great exercise.  I think I’ll try to ride at least one time a week to get a little variations to my workouts.

This is by far the best main dish recipe that I’ve made from Pinterest.  I adapted this recipe from the Gimmesomeoven pin.  I never thought of cooking with hummus, but now I think it will become a standard on my grocery shopping list.  Not only was it good on the chicken, it made the vegetables taste AMAZING!!

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts
Hummus (I used the garlic flavored one)
Squash
Okra
2 Lemons
1 tsp. of Paprika
Salt and Pepper to taste

DSCN0848

Put a layer of squash and okra in a casserole dish.
DSCN0849

Put chicken breast on top of the vegetables

DSCN0851

Cover chicken in Hummus

DSCN0852

Sprinkle paprika over the chicken, add salt and pepper and squeeze lemons all over the dish.  Make sure to get some of the spices on the vegetables

DSCN0853

Bake in the oven at 450 for about 30 – 45 minutes

DSCN0856Dinner is served!! YUM!!

I wish I would have added more vegetables to my dish. Next time I’m going to add zucchini and tomatoes. I will also put a larger quantity of vegetables in the pan.  The vegetables were SOOO good.

%d bloggers like this: