Tuesday, May 07, 2013

Top Ten Tuesday - Favorite Recipes

Today, I'm linking up with Trista for Top Ten Tuesday and we're talking food recipes.  Most of these are more meal ideas and not specific recipes, but here's 10 5 of my 'go to' meals:

1.  Taco Soup - This is definitely one of my 'go to' meals during the   
     fall/winter.  It's so versatile and easy to make.  I actually had to google
     the recipe because I usually just dump it all in a pot and don't follow a
     recipe.  I sometimes make this less 'soupy' and use it as a filling for
     burritos or use it like chili and put it over Doritos or Fritos or even lettuce
     for a Taco Salad. 
      Ingredients:
     2 pounds ground meat - beef, chicken, or turkey
     1 large onion, chopped
     1 can (15 ounces) beans - pinto, kidney, or chili
     1 can (11 to 15 ounces) whole kernel corn ,drained
     1 can (10 to 15 ounces) Rotel tomatoes
     1 pkg. (about 1 ounce) taco seasoning mix
     1 pkg. original hidden valley ranch dressing(dry)
     2 1/2 cups water or more, to make soup broth
      Preparation:
     Brown meat and onions in a large pan with olive oil if needed; drain off  
     fat.  Add remaining ingredients and simmer for an hour or so.

2.  Chicken & Dumplins - We love some Chicken & Dumplins at my house.  I
     again don't have a specific recipe I follow, but here's what I do.
      Ingredients:
     Chicken - boiled and cubed or shredded, in a pinch, I have even used
        canned chicken
     Chicken Broth - 1-2 cans, depending on how much I make
     Bisquick - prepared per box instructions to make biscuits
     Butter - maybe a couple tablespoons
     Salt & Pepper - just to taste
      Preparation:
      Place chicken, broth, butter, salt and pepper in large pot and bring to a
     boil.  You may have to add some water or another can of broth.  Once
     this starts boiling, begin dropping the bisquick by teaspoons into the
     pot.  After you have added all the bisquick, turn the heat down and let
     simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring regularly.  Serve by itself, over rice
     or with cornbread.

3.  Crescent Roll _____ - Another pretty quick and easy recipe that I don't
     have a specific recipe or even a name for.
     Ingredients:
     Can of Crescent Rolls
     Cheese - I use mozarella or cheddar
     Meat - I use Pepperoni or ham or turkey or chicken
      Preparation:
     Unroll the crescent rolls so they are flat.  You can separate into triangles
     or leave as rectangles or even one big sheet.  I then put my cheese and
     meat on top and fold the crescent roll over or roll it up.  Bake according
     to the instructions on the can.  Some variations I've done are mozarella
     cheese sticks with pepperoni rolled up like a pig in a blanket, ham or
     turkey with cheddar cheese folded over like a hot pocket, taco meat with
     cheddar cheese or shredded chicken cheddar cheese all rolled up and
     sliced into pinwheels.  The possibilities are endless!

4.  Crockpot Chicken - Super easy and time saving!
     Ingredients:
     Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
     Chicken Broth or Water 
     Crock-Pot/Slow Cooker
     Preparation:
     Place chicken in crock-pot/slow cooker.  Add enough broth or water to
     cover.  May add salt, pepper or other seasonings as desired.  Cook on low
     for 6-8 hours.  Once the chicken is done, it will literally fall apart.  I do
     this on a Monday morning and we have chicken for almost the entire
     week.  We will use this for chicken spaghetti, BBQ chicken sandwiches,
     chicken tacos, chicken salad, etc.  I have also done this and froze part of
     it to use later.

5.  Oreo Balls - These aren't as easy and can be time consuming but they
     are so good.  (And I don't like the word balls, but I don't know what else
     to call them!)
     Ingredients:
     Package of Oreo Cookies
     Block of Cream Cheese (room temperature) OR Tub of Cream Cheese Icing
     White Chocolate - Almond Bark, Candy Melts or Bag of Chips
     Preparation:
     Crush the package of cookies.  If I'm in a hurry, I put them in a ziploc bag
     and hammer on them with a meat mallet.  If I'm not in a hurry, I put
     them in a food processor and get them really crushed!  Once all of your
     cookies are crushed, put them in a bowl and add the cream cheese or tub
     of frosting and mix well.  Now you will roll out balls (like you're making
     meatballs or playing with Play Doh) and set them on a baking sheet. 
     After you're done rolling them all out, I put the baking sheet in the fridge
     or freezer to cool and get hard.  Now you will melt the chocolate.  I do
     this in the microwave or on the stove top.  Either way, be very careful
     not to burn the chocolate and whatever you do, don't add water to it!  If
     it's clumpy and you need it to smooth out, add very little (a drop or two)
     of vegetable oil.  Once it's melted good, begin dipping your cookie balls
     in the chocolate and coating them well.  I use a fork, but you can get
     some lollipop sticks and do it too.  After they're coated well, let cool and
     they're done!  I've used this same recipe/technique with cake too - Red
     Velvet, Strawberry, Lemon.

Well, I only came up with 5 instead of 10!  I don't have any super secret recipes that I make often.  Since it's just me and the kids at home 90% of the time, we usually have breakfast (eggs, bacon, grits, biscuits), pizza, chicken tenders, tacos, cereal or sandwiches for supper if I don't cook.  When I do cook, it's chicken or pork chops on the grill with veggies or something super simple like spaghetti. 

  Go check out some other yummy recipes!

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