Baked Chicken Taquitos Platter

I've heard a lot of people mention the blog Our Best Bites, so I thought I'd check it out when I was planning our meals for this week. I now understand why so many people talk about it. They have REALLY good stuff on there. Last night I made their Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos. They were sooooo good; I was left thinking about how amazing they were all night long. I also made their guacamole recipe. No Mexican dinner is complete without beans and rice, so I made my favorite spanish rice recipe: Best Spanish Rice from allrecipes.com. It is so easy and so good.

For the refried beans, I just threw some things together to flavor them up a bit. First put a can of beans into a microwave safe bowl and warm them up for one minute. Then mix in some of your left over garlic, onion, cilantro, green salsa, sour cream, and grated pepper jack cheese from making the taquitos. I also added some salsa and cheddar cheese. Combine all ingredients together. Microwave for another minute and stir well. Throw some shredded lettuce on your plate and you have a complete Mexican platter. Delicious.

Hearty Greek Pasta

This is our go-to recipe if we are ever entertaining, whether it be a large crowd or just another couple. It's simple but tastes restaurant worthy, and is easy to double or even triple without losing the integrity of the dish.





1 lb chicken breasts (sliced diagonally)
3T olive oil
1 - 8 1/2 oz jar sundried tomatoes (packed in herb oil, drained and julienned)
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1/4 c fresh basil (please use fresh!), coarsely chopped
1 - 8 1/2 oz can artichoke hearts (packed in water, drained, and quartered)
6 oz crumbled feta cheese
2 c heavy cream (add more to taste - I like a lot!)
12 oz bowtie pasta
1t dried oregano


Brown chicken in oil for 5-6 minutes until cooked through. Add sundried tomatoes and garlic & saute for 2 minutes. Add basil, artichoke hearts, and feta cheese to pan and saute for an additional minute. Stir in cream; remove mixture from heat. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and oregano and cover.

Meanwhile cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and place pasta in a large bowl and toss with the sauce. Adjust seasonings with salt pepper and oregano, and add more cream if necessary.

Easy Skillet Lasagna

I just tried this recipe last night. It was really fast & easy to make and we'll make it again.
The picture and recipe are from skip to my lou.

My variations: I did not use beef or zucchini.

Instead I just used some fresh spinach (about 11/2 c). I plan to make it this way every time.


1 1/4 cups ricotta cheese or cottage cheese (I used cottage cheese)
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
1 pound lean ground beef
1 medium zucchini, diced (about 1 cup)
1 (26-ounce) jar pasta sauce
6 oven-ready (no boil) lasagna noodles --- you don't cook them until you assemble everything

In a medium bowl, mix together the ricotta or cottage cheese, water, salt, basil, oregano, pepper Parmesan, and 1/2 cup of the mozzarella. Set the mixture aside.

Brown the beef in a large skillet set over medium-high heat until cooked, about 5 minutes. Drain fat. Add the zucchini. Stir in 2 cups of the pasta sauce. Reduce heat to medium-low.
Top the mixture with 2 lasagna noodles, set in the center. Break 2 more noodles each into half and fill in the edges. Spread the cheese mixture over the noodles. Break 2 remaining noodles in half each and lay on top. Pour the rest of the sauce into the skillet and spread evenly, then sprinkle on the remaining cup of mozzarella.

Cover the skillet and simmer the lasagna over medium-low heat until the noodles are tender, about 20 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and let the lasagna cool for at least 5 minutes. After about 10 minutes most of the liquid was absorbed. Makes about 6 servings.

Basil Pan Burgers

This is our go-to recipe when we want burgers. They are our favorite! Even my two-year old likes them. :)

Ingredients
* 1 egg, slightly beaten
* 1/4 cup chopped onion
* 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
* 2 tablespoons fine dry bread crumbs
* 2 tablespoons snipped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
* 2 tablespoons ketchup
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1 pound lean ground beef
* Nonstick cooking spray
* 4 whole wheat hamburger buns, split and toasted
* Fresh basil leaves (optional)
* 4 tomato slices

Directions
1. In a medium bowl combine egg, onion, Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, snipped basil, ketchup, garlic, salt, and pepper. Add ground beef; mix well. Shape meat mixture into four 3/4-inch-thick patties.

2. Lightly coat a heavy skillet with cooking spray (or use a heavy nonstick skillet). Preheat skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add patties. Reduce heat to medium and cook, uncovered, for 12 to 15 minutes or until temperature registers 160 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, turning meat once halfway through cooking. If meat browns too quickly, reduce heat to medium-low. Serve patties on buns with basil leaves, if desired, and tomato slices.

Makes 4 sandwiches

Compliments of bhg.com.

Crockpot Sweet and Sour Chicken

This recipe sounds a little weird but I love it.

8oz bottle of Catalina dressing
1pkg of Lipton onion soup
10oz Apricot Jam
uncooked Chicken breast (I've put six in and still had sauce left over)
(optional) An hour before it is done put in some carrots and pineapple
Just put it all into the crock pot and turn it on. That easy.
Don't cook longer than six hours on low
I usually serve it over rice.

Theme for May

I was picking out a meal to feed the missionaries this weekend and decided on a recipe I found on here awhile ago and have made a few times (the Cheesy Baked Mexi Rigatoni that Hatsuho submitted).

That got me thinking we need to post more main dishes, so that will be the theme for the month- main dishes.