Credit: Stick A Fork In It
Cochran Recipe: Need an easy meal for a busy day tomorrow. This is the winner. Stay tuned!
Monday, April 30, 2012
Chicken Spinach Noodle Casserole
Credit: Real Simple
Recipe: http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/chicken-noodle-casserole-00100000075552/index.html
Cochran Comments: I have several of these ingredients left over from last week's meals. So, we are going to try this some time this week. I think I'll try to substitute Greek yogurt for sour cream and skim milk for whole milk. Stay tuned!
French Toast & Bacon Cupcakes
Credit: Mama B Blog
Recipe: http://mamabblog.com/2011/06/french-toast-and-bacon-cupakes.html
Cochran Review: I whipped these up this morning. You can tell a mama is responsible for this recipe, because it is oh so easy! I keep whole wheat flour on hand at home. So, I used that instead of white four. Other than this change, I followed the recipe. I'm getting ready to ice the cupcakes shortly. Unfortunately, my meat loving husband ate up all of the bacon I precooked. So, I'll need to pick that up during my weekly grocery run today. However, I couldn't resist trying one hot out of the oven! So, I iced one and we dug in! YUM! We got more of a cinnamon roll taste than french toast. Maybe it is the wheat flour or the lacking bacon. We will try again with bacon and let you know... if they last!! Cinnamon roll, french toast, whatever it is, there's no arguing in our family that it is pure yummy!!
So, just tried this with bacon! And it is AH-MA-zing!!! Oh so good! Thanks for joining us for breakfast! Enjoy!
Here's a pic of our cupcakes:
Monday, April 23, 2012
Blackened Chicken & Cilantro Lime Quinoa
Credit: Sarcastic Cooking
Recipe: http://www.sarcasticcooking.com/2012/03/15/blackened-chicken-and-cilantro-lime-quinoa/
Cochran Review: Although the recipe came from Sarcastic Cooking, there's nothing sarcastic about my family's love for it! Quick, easy and yummy! Just the way dinner is meant to be!! LOVED the Greek Yogurt/Avocado dressing to top the meal! It was a nice touch since the chicken seasoning packed a little heat (not too much tho; my 16 month old enjoyed it). The quinoa was very flavorful, too.
Here is a pic from our meal:
Storms passed through right as I was cooking, and we lost power for 3 hours. Another reason I was so grateful the meal cooked up easy and quick. So, we enjoyed our family dinner over candlelight, which was very fun! Thanks for joining us for dinner! Enjoy!
Cheesy Chicken & Wild Rice Casserole
Credit: Picky Palate
Recipe: http://picky-palate.com/2010/09/13/cheesy-chicken-and-wild-rice-casserole/
Cochran Review: We had this for dinner last night. The dish tastes fine, but it was a lot of work and a lot of dishes. Everything in the recipe requires precooking: shredded chicken, vegetables, and rice. Luckily, this was a planned Sunday dinner. So, my husband was available to help. If you're not standing over this meal, it's not cooking. There isn't much it does on its own. As a mom of a busy toddler, these meals are a bit cumbersome. I think you could fancy up a boxed rice meal with chicken and bake topped with cheese to get the same minimal work, but same flavor dish. Also, if I were to make this again, I'd either add more chicken or not use so much rice.
This is how I made my shredded chicken:
- 6 frozen skinless, boneless chicken breasts (only 2 for this recipe. I made more for another recipe this week)
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 2 cups of chicken broth
- 2 cups of water
- 10 whole peppercorns
- 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt
I threw all ingredients into the slow cooker on high for 4 hours. Let chicken cool. Then shred/pull apart with fork.
Here is a picture from our dinner:
Thanks for joining us for dinner! Enjoy!
Black Bean Sweet Potato Enchiladas
Credit: Cookie + Kate
Recipe: http://cookieandkate.com/2011/black-bean-sweet-potato-enchiladas/
Cochran Review: We had these tonight for dinner tonight! Yum! Yum! Yum! Very good dish. I LOVE meals that say throw the ingredients in a bowl and mix! Doesn't get easier than that!!
A few things I changed up:
- I shredded chicken from last night's dinner (Wine & Tomato Braised Chicken) for my husband who insists on having meat with every meal. :)
- It is a warm day today. So I decided to cook the sweet potato on the stove top in a pan with coconut oil instead of bake them. The less I have the oven going, the better.
- I chickened out. I omitted the Red Pepper, Jalapeno, and Serrano peppers. I planned to feed this to my 16 month old, and was not up for being awake all night due to his tummy hurting. I think they would add a nice kick, tho. So, do it and let me know! ;)
- Also, I thought I had a jar of green salsa at home, but I didn't. So, I used what we had left of a jalapeno cilantro salsa on the bottom of the dish. I didn't have enough to top the enchiladas, but I had extra stuffing. So, I threw the extra stuffing on top with the cheese.
Even with my few misses, changes, and additions, this meal tastes great and was easy to make! I'd be happy to have it again and maybe add a little more kick. Enjoy! Thanks for joining us for dinner!
Wine & Tomato Braised Chicken
Credit: Eating Well
Recipe: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/wine_tomato_braised_chicken.html
Cochran Review: This is for dinner tonight! After doing the prep work, I can honestly say I'm excited for dinner! This is a meal that requires a minimal amount of prep cooking before you toss it all in the hot tub. The prep cooking and clean up took me about 30 minutes. So for all of you working 8-5 chefs, I recommend following in tip at the bottom of the recipe to make this part ahead. Also, they offer alternatives for the wine for those of you who prefer. I used Barefoot Chardonnay in our meal.
Some things I did different:
- I used 3 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breasts instead of the bone in thighs in the recipe.
- As I've mentioned before, my husband has a texture issue with tomatoes. So, I used 23 ounces (15 & 8 oz cans) of tomato sauce instead of the canned tomatoes.
- The bacon I used didn't produce very much fat/grease. So, I added a tablespoon or so of coconut oil to the pan before the onion.
- Also, I threw a 5th piece of bacon in, because, well, why not! :)
- I didn't thaw my chicken first. I turned the slow cooker on high with the frozen chicken inside while I prepped the sauce. I've decided to leave the chicken and sauce on high for the first hour and then I intend to kick it down to low until dinner (about 4 hours).
OK, so this meal wasn't awful, but it wasn't great. The flavor smelled more than it tasted. We didn't hate it, but it isn't something we will remember about to have again. Maybe the few things I did differently altered the recipe too much, but we won't be having this again. If you give it a try and find a way to doctor it tasty, let me know!
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Vanilla Pudding Chocolate Chip Cookies
Credit: Mommy Savers
Recipe: http://www.mommysavers.com/2012/03/chocolate-chip-pudding-cookies/
Cochran Review: So, so, so yummy and easy! I threw these together after dinner last night. I used Ghiradelli Dark Chocolate Chips, Nestle Peanut Butter and Dark Chocolate Chips to make up the two cups of chocolate chips in the recipe. I also added about a 1/4 cup of crushed walnuts. They were great last night and I can't stay out of them today! Enjoy!
Pic from our kitchen:
Honey Heinz 57 Chicken
Credit: Heinz 57 & Jen C
Recipe: I saw an idea on the back of a Heinz 57 bottle to mix a bottle with 1/4 cup of honey to create a chicken grilling sauce. So, I spiced it up a bit, and we really enjoyed it!
5 thinly sliced chicken breasts
1 bottle of Heinz 57
1/4 cup of honey
1 Tbsp of vinegar
6-8 drops (to taste) of Chipotle Tabasco Sauce
In a small bowl, mix honey and Heinz 57. I had trouble getting all of the sauce from the bottle. So, this is how vinegar joined the party. Pour about a tablespoon of vinegar into the Heinz 57 bottle, put the lid back on, and shake to loosen the rest of the sauce. Pour into small bowl. I didn't want our meal to just taste like chicken with Heinz 57 on it, so I spiced it up with a few drops/dashes of Chipotle Tabasco Sauce. Mix all together. Split sauce in half to use half during grilling and the other half for dipping, if desired.
Grill chicken over medium heat 4-6 minutes. Brush with sauce mixture, turn over and grill an additional 4-6 minutes. Or until chicken is done.
Cochran Review: This turned out really great. We don't typically use a lot of sauce with our meals, and this made A LOT of sauce. So, we have over half left over. Next time, I would either make more chicken or less sauce. I guess it is nice to have at the ready in the fridge, tho. :) The chicken turned out tender and juicy. The sauce has a sweet & spicy flavor to it without too much spice. You could make it more or less by adjusting the Chipotle Tabasco, of course. Enjoy!
Pic from our meal is above.
Monday, April 2, 2012
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Spicy Seafood Stew
Credit: myrecipes.com
Recipe: http://www.myrecipes.com/how-to/7-ways-with/ways-to-cook-tilapia-10000001642487/page5.html
Cochran Review: Want to make this soon! Sounds yummy!
Skillet Tilapia Fillets w/ Cilantro Butter
Credit: myrecipes.com
Recipe: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/skillet-fillets-with-cilantro-butter-10000001142036/
Cochran Review: Planning to have this week. Stay tuned.
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