Tater Tot Hot Dish

I finally did it, I made Tater Tot Hot Dish for the blog.  While not the most glamourous of dishes, I mean I'm not expecting you to serve this on your fine China, it is tastier than "all get out." Yeah, that quote is from Mr. Schwartz.  What can I say, we are from Minnesota so I have got to represent.  

Although there are quite a few varieties of this dish this is mine.  Slightly adapted from my mom's recipe.  My secret: two, yes two, cans of "cream of something" soup.  It adds an extra creaminess.  Whip up a big o' batch of this and you can pretend that you are hanging out with us, in Minnesota.  Probably where you would like to be about now considering the high is a whopping 16 today.  It gets better ... -15 below wind chills tonight.  Thank God for leftovers.  

Start by chopping up a medium onion

Toss it in a pan with a bit of canola oil.  Let this sauté for a bit until the onions start to become translucent. 

Add a pound of ground beef.

Brown it up.

Add a bag of frozen veggies.  We like the green beans, corn, carrots and peas version.

Give it a quick stir

Add two cans of cream of something soup.  I used one can of low fat cream of chicken and one can of low fat cream of celery.  Cream of mushroom would work too…any combination of the three.

Stir that in as well.

Add a few shakes of Worcestershire sauce. 

And a dash of Kitchen Bouquet.  This is completely optional but adds a richness that can't be beat.  It also makes the sauce a darker brown.  Be careful as you can go from perfect savory brown to black real quick.

Spray a baking dish with cooking spray and pour the mixture into the dish.

Spread out evenly and top with the tater tots.

Midwestern Food Art.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour or until hot and bubbly. 

 Deeelish.  It's hard to make Tater Tot Hotdish look pretty but I tried my best.

It's tasty, I swear. 

Tater Tot Hotdish

1 medium onion, chopped

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 pound ground beef 

1 16 oz bag of your favorite frozen vegetables 

2 cans cream of chicken, mushroom or celery soup

A few shakes of Worcestershire Sauce 

A dash of Kitchen Bouquet

approximately 50 tater tots 

Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees. 

Preheat a large skillet on medium high heat.  Drizzle in the canola oil and add the onion.  Sauté the onions until they start to become translucent. 

Add the ground beef and cook until no longer pink.  Once the meat is cooked, add the soups, veggies, worcestershire sauce and Kitchen Bouquet.  Stir until completely combined.  

Spray a baking dish with cooking spray and pour the mixture into the dish.  Spread out evenly and top with tater tots.  

Bake in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour or until bubbly and hot throughout.  

Enjoy! 

Recipe by: Mrs. Schwartz 

Crockpot Angel Mushroom Chicken

Is there anything better than coming home to an almost fully cooked meal and your house smelling like you have been slaving in the kitchen all day?  Let me answer that for you, no.  

Unlike some of the crockpot/slow cooker recipes I have posted, this one takes a few minutes of prep the night before...or the day of if you are into that sort of thing...like waking up early to make dinner.  I for one, am not.  It doesn't take long, just combine a few things, pop your chicken in the crockpot and pour the mixture on top.  Go to work (or shopping or something fun like that) and come home to your lovely smelling home.  Boil some water, make the noodles and you are good.to.go. This is one of our crockpot staples and I think it will be one of yours as well. 

Start by making the sauce mixture...melt the butter.  Add cream cheese and the Italian dressing seasoning packet.

Chop up a few mushrooms.  I like mine small, hardly detectable.

Stir in a can of Golden Mushroom Soup.  Who knew this stuff existed?  It adds such an amazing flavor to this dish!

Add the mushrooms...

And a half a can of water or wine.  Up to you...either taste just fine.

Spray the inside of your crockpot with cooking spray and place the chicken at the bottom.  Pour the sauce over the top and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4.

This is mine after 8 hours.

The sauce was a little thin so I transferred it to a sauce pan and reduced it a bit on medium high while I cooked my noodles.

Looks fancy huh?

That sauce...don't get me started!

The chicken just falls apart! So good.

I should add that my lovely sister (in-law) makes this dish quite a bit and my nieces who are two absolutely GOBBLE it up.  So, it is also toddler approved and that's saying something.  

Angel Mushroom Chicken 

1 stick butter

8 oz cream cheese (low fat/fat free is okay!)

1 packet Italian Dressing Seasoning

1 can Golden Mushroom Soup

8 large button mushrooms, chopped

1/2 can water 

4 chicken breasts

Your choice of pasta--we like either Angel hair pasta or egg noodles with this 

Start by melting the butter on medium high heat in a sauce pan.  Add the cream cheese, Italian Dressing seasoning, soup, mushrooms and water.  Give it a good stir and heat until completely combined.  

Spray your crockpot/slow cooker with cooking spray and lay the chicken breasts down in a single layer on the bottom.  Cover with the sauce you just prepared.  

Cook for 4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low.  The chicken is very tender but can over cook and get dry so don't cook it to long.   

If after the cooking is done your sauce is a bit on the thinner side, remove the sauce from the crockpot/slow cooker and add it to a sauce pan on medium high heat.  Let it simmer and reduce while you cook your noodles.  

Once the noodles are cooked, place them on a plate with the chicken on top.  Generously pour over the sauce and enjoy!  

Recipe slightly adapted from: Midwest Living

Breakfast Enchiladas

I'm always looking for new ideas for breakfast.  On weekdays I eat the most boring breakfast ever: one Luna Bar and a skim latte.  While tasty and quick, on the weekends I long to eat something different, something that actually has a bit of substance to it.  I was thinking the other Saturday about what I had on hand and was all ready to rock out these Grilled Breakfast Burritos except with sausage.  But, when I went to look for tortilla shells, this little can of enchilada sauce caught my eye.  Boom, breakfast enchiladas were born.  

These little buggers come together very quickly and reheat like a dream.  I actually froze two of them and reheated them for lunch today.  They tasted just as good as the day I made them.  Give these a try, I have a feeling you will have a new breakfast favorite. 

Start by cracking a few eggs in a bowl

Whip them up with a little milk

Scramble them up on medium high heat stirring the whole time.

Oh and brown up some breakfast sausage too…kinda forgot to take a picture of that.

Once both the sausage and eggs are cooked, combine them in the same pan.

Then set up your assembly line.  Be sure to spray your pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Spoon a bit of the egg and sausage mixture onto the middle of the tortilla.

Sprinkle on a little cheese and roll it up

Be cool and don't pay attention to the size of the tortillas and find out that they don't fit after you roll them up. Fun stuff.  Either way, place them in the pan seam side down.

Pour over a small can of enchilada sauce.  I used red but my dad, who demanded that I text him the recipe when I sent him a picture of the finished product, used green.  

Sprinkle a bit of cheddar cheese on the top

Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes at 350 and they will come out all bubbly and delicious.

The perfect breakfast.

I'll take a bloody too please.

Breakfast Enchiladas

6 eggs
Splash of milk
1 pound of sausage (I used the reduced fat kind)
6 large tortilla shells
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, separated
1 10 oz can of enchilada sauce (red or green)

Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees.

Crack the eggs into a medium bowl and use a fork to whip them up a bit.  Splash two tablespoons or so of milk and whip again.  Pour into a large skillet and cook on medium high heat stirring the whole time until they are fully cooked.

While the eggs are cooking, cook the sausage until it is no longer pink.  Add the sausage to the egg pan.

Remove the egg and sausage mixture from the heat and set up an assembly line.  Place a tortilla shell down on your working surface and spoon in 1/6 of the egg and sausage mixture.  Sprinkle on the cheddar cheese and roll up.  Place in a 9x13 baking pan that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray, seam down.  Continue with the remainder of the tortillas.

Pour the enchilada sauce over each of the rolled tortillas.  Place in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese is melted.

Enjoy!

Recipe by: Mrs. Schwartz

Spicy Chipolte Chicken Pasta (A Cheesecake Factory Copycat)

As you can tell by now I am a huge fan of pasta.  If you need some evidence you can look here, here, here, here, here and here.  I really like to have pasta when we are dining out but most of the time I am sorely disappointed because I could make the same thing at home.  

I tried the Spicy Chipolte Chicken Pasta from the Cheesecake Factory a while ago and fell.in.love.  I thought it would be pretty difficult to make at home considering the complexity of the flavors.  Luckily for me, and now you, I found a recipe that is pretty stinking close to the real deal.  Of course I modified it just a bit but it tasty.  Here is how to do it: 

Start by working on the marinade for the chicken.  Squeeze the juice of the lemon into a medium bowl.

Add honey

And salt.

Give it a couple cracks of black pepper.

Give it a good whisk.

Cut two chicken breasts into small bite-sized chunks.  

Put them in the bowl with the marinade

And give them a quick stir.  Cover with plastic wrap or a cover and place in the fridge while you prep the veggies.

Start by chopping a yellow pepper

An onion

Red pepper

And garlic.  You can combine all of the peppers and onions into a bowl but keep the garlic separate.  You will see why in a bit.

Preheat a large skillet on medium high heat with butter and olive oil.

Once the skillet is hot and the butter is melted, add the chicken including the marinade.

Cook on all sides

Until the chicken is golden brown and no longer pink in the middle.  Keep tossing it as the honey will make it easy to burn. 

 Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside for now.

Add a little more butter

Toss in the peppers and onions and sauté for about 3 minutes or so.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta.  This is when you need to start multitasking.  You can do it!

Once the peppers and onions have sautéed for a few minutes, add the garlic.  It can burn very easy so you want to be sure to add it after the peppers an onions have a little time to cook.

Add the frozen peas (yum).

Along with another tablespoon of honey.

And a few tablespoons (depending on your taste) of the adobo sauce that comes with chipolte peppers and adobo sauce. Save the peppers for another recipe…I'm thinking chipolte mayo.

Give it a quick stir

Add the cream

And parmesan cheese.

Toss in the chicken and don't forget to add the juices that are on the plate.

This is a good time to check the seasoning.  You might need to add a little salt and pepper.  Let this bubble away for about 4 minutes or so.

Drain the pasta

And once the sauce has thickened, add the pasta to the skillet.

Toss to coat evenly in the sauce

And that's it!  Serve with tortilla strips if you so desire.   I found them in the salad isle.

Parsley and additional parmesan cheese is a good garnish.

Spicy, creamy heaven on a plate. 

Spicy Chipolte Chicken Pasta (A Cheesecake Factory Copycat)

Juice of one lemon

3 tablespoons honey (separated)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

2 large chicken breasts

2 tablespoons butter (separated)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 yellow bell pepper, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 cups frozen peas

1 lb penne pasta

2-3 tablespoons adobo sauce (from a can of chipolte in adobo sauce)

2  cups heavy cream

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

tortilla strips and parsley for garnish

Start by combining the lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of the honey, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.  Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and add to the marinade.  Toss and cover.  Place bowl in the fridge while you prep the veggies.  

Chop the peppers and onions and mince the garlic.  

Preheat a large skillet on medium high heat.  Add one tablespoon butter and the olive oil to the pan.  Once the butter melts, add the chicken and the marinade into the pan.  Cook on all sides until it starts to brown and the chicken is cooked so it is no longer pink in the middle.  Be careful as this can burn easily due to the honey.  Once the chicken is fully cooked, remove onto a plate.  

Now would be a good time to heat a pot of water to boiling for the noodles. 

Add the other tablespoon of butter into the pan.  Toss in the peppers and onions.  Let this cook for about 3-5 minutes or until the onions start to become translucent.  Then add the garlic and let it cook for another minute or so.  Then add the frozen peas.  

If your water is boiling by this point, cook the pasta until al dente.  Drain once the pasta is cooked and set aside for now.  

Add the cream and parmesan cheese to the skillet with the veggies.  Taste for seasoning and add additional salt and pepper if needed.  Let this bubble on medium heat for about 4 minutes or so to thicken.  

Add the chicken and pasta to the skillet.  Be sure to not forget to add the juices on the chicken plate.  Give it a good toss so everything is coated.  

Place in a large bowl and garnish with tortilla strips, additional parmesan cheese and parsley.  

Enjoy!  

Recipe modified from: Recipe Necessity and I think there are a few others floating around out there but I couldn't find the original source.