Super Fast Chicken and Broccoli Skillet

Chicken Broccoli and Stuff

Don't know what to call this, because it kinda changes with what I have in the fridge each time. This is one that I have to make when my hubbie isn't home because of the first ingredient in the title. He swears he is allergic to the bird!! Weirdo! But his lose, it is super yummy and super fast!

Ingredients:
2 chicken breast cut into bite size pieces (use what ever kind you have: boiled, grilled, roasted truly
     doesn't matter)
1/2 to 1 med onion cut in half and sliced. Depends on how much you like onion.
1 cup frozen broccoli or fresh (you can use more, or you can use less. I eyeball mine when I throw it in)
1/2 a package of Ranch dressing mix (the powdered kind) Leave it in powder form. Or if you buy
   it in bulk like I do about 3 tbsp.
1 to 2 tbsp butter
3 tbsp water (just enough to keep veggies from sticking and dryin out)

Now here are the list of ingredients you can use if you have them or not if you don't.
chopped asparagus
chopped green peppers
chopped celery

I have had each of these thrown in the mix and it is super yummy. Just add what you have and don't stress out about what you don't.

Step 1 - melt butter in large skillet and put broccoli if it is frozen in microwave for a couple min to unthaw it a little. Speeds things up and gets rid of some extra water. If your broccoli is fresh add it with step 2 instead

Step 2 - once skillet is warm add veggies that are raw and a little water, cover and let cook for 3 to 4 min. keep an eye on them so they don't get too done! Should still be sorta crisp.

Step 3 - add chicken and broccoli if it was the frozen kind. Heat chicken through.

Step 4 -  sprinkle with about 1/2 the ranch stir, and then add the rest of the ranch.

Step 5 - EAT! Enjoy!

As you can tell I like to wing-it when I cook. We don't live where it is really convienent to jump in the car and get something if you forgot it, or are out. So we have interesting meals sometimes! This recipe is adjustable and very very yummy.  You can add more or less of everything in it and make it just to your tastebuds satisfaction. I often add more ranch if the kids are eating because it seems to hide the broccoli taste? What ever works!

Enjoy!

Mock Jumbalaya!

This is a go-to recipe at our house. You can choose to either make it the quick spur-of-the-moment way, or take a little more time and make it from scratch. Either way it is super yummy and easy!


Ingredients:
1 smoked sausage (I use that U-shaped kind) DOn't know what it's actually called
2 c. cooked brown rice (I often use the microwaveable pouch)
1 bag frozen cut up green/red peppers and onions (if you chop your own you need 1 of each pepper
        and 1 med onion.)
1 to 2 tsp or so cajun seasoning. Do this to your taste this is just a questimate!
1 to 2 tbsp butter

The next two are optional. Use one or use both what ever you have handy. It is great anyway you want to go!
2 boiled chicken breasts cut into cubes 
1 cup chopped up ham

Step 1 - Place butter in large skillet and begin to melt it. While you are waiting chop up the sausage into bite size pieces of your liking. 
Step 2 - throw sausage, onions, and peppers into the skillet. Cook on med heat until sausage is starting to brown and onions are almost cooked.
Step 3 - add others meats if you are using them and cook around 2 min. more to heat them up.
Step 4 - add remaining ingredients are stir well.  Cook for 5 or so min more until everything is nicely heated through.

Sneaky Tip -  You can easily hide about a cup of squash in this concoction. Or about 1/2 c. of sweet potatoes.  I have to puree these, or use baby food to truly sneak them by. But either one will work if you need to hide a veggie. Just add them when you add the rice.

Enjoy! We do at our house.  SOrry I don't have a pic to post. But it is good!

Super Easy Supper with hidden Veggies!!

Super Easy Supper Recipe with Hidden Veggies!!!

Okay! Tonight was one of those nights when supper seems like a serious chore. You know what I'm talking about! You open the fridge hoping the food fairy stopped by and left you this wonderful meal that you pop into the oven and 20 minutes later you have a something that your family will just love. Ha! Ha! Ha! Sure! If there is such a fairy someone please let her know where I live. I would love to have her visit.

Anyways! There wasn't much there so I started to rummage through cupboards, drawers, and such looking for something to throw together.  Two of my kids are a little picky about veggies, as is daddy so I am always sneaking in veggies here and there that usually no ones knows a thing about.  I figure he will probably never read the recipe section of this blog, since he doesn't cook, so hopefully my secrets will be safe and some of his favorite meals won't  be ruined by the thought of eating a cooked veggie! So if you know my husband Mums-the-word! Thanks!

So I managed to come up with this rag-tag group of items and I threw them together, and what do you know!!! RAVE REVIEWS!!!  From all three kids. Daddy was working so he missed out, but probably a good thing since he won't eat chicken (weird) and I haven't found a good way to hide that!  But this is the list of items that presented themselves:  1 tube of crescent rolls, 2 plain boiled chicken breasts, real bacon bits, mozzarella cheese, 1 container of baby food butternut squash, and the remains of a couple ounces of cream cheese.

Sounds yummy right? Well through some trial and error I have found that you can pretty much hide baby food squash, carrots, and sweet potatoes in about anything! I use the baby food for convenience and they just really get it mushed up good. You can do this yourself and save a little money, but I keep these on hand in case the freezer is bare of stored purees! Just a tip though, keep the baby food containers WELL hidden if you don't actually have a baby in your house! Picky eaters will get suspicious!

So this is what I created!

I took the crescent rolls and laid each one out flat and smeared a little cream cheese on the bigger end of the triangle. No real measurement here, just what I knew my kids would eat probably around 1/2 tablespoon.  Then I added a little more then that of the butternut squash and smeared it all over the roll.  Next I sprinkled on a few bacon bits, and some cheese, and I topped it off with the chicken that I had chopped into small cubes. Last fold the pointed end of the crescent roll over your stuff and gently press it down on the point so it will stay! Pop them into the oven at 350 for around 12 to 15 min. or until the rolls looked done and lightly browned.

Presto!! A yummy meal with a hidden veggie that my kids loved!!

As I mentioned before I am always hiding veggies here and there and it's really not that hard.

Here is one other idea you can try out on your family if they are picky.

Home made sloppy joes -  add pureed sweet potatoes- I have found baby food works best. I can't get all the stringy things off the home cooked ones! I have added 1 1/2 baby food containers to 1 1/2 lbs of meat mix and no one noticed! Don't know if this works for store bought sloppy joes, but don't see why it wouldn't.

Well I hope you give this recipe a try and let me know what you and your family thought!

Happy craftin and cookin!

Chicken squash roll-ups

1 tube refrig. crescent rolls

2 cooked chopped chicken breasts (mine were boiled)

1 container butternut squash baby food

real bacon bits

shredded mozz. cheese (maybe 1 cup)

cream cheese ( i had about 1 1/2 ounces)

Lay out crescent rolls individually on greased cookie sheet.

On the wider end smear about 1/2 tbsp. or so cream cheese.

Smear about a tbsp or so of squash over then entire roll.

Sprinkle with desired amount of bacon bits, and cheese

Top with some of the chicken

Fold the pointed end of the roll over the stuffing and press it gently down on the wide end

    of the roll

Place in preheated 350 oven for 12 to 15 minutes. or until rolls are lightly browned!

(no real measurements for this, just add what you think your family would like)

Let cool slightly and ENJOY!