Mar 1, 2010

Easy Greek Salad


This salad is really good AND really easy. I usually serve this with a pizza or lasagna. It is a good subsitute for a regular green salad.


1/2 bag baby spinach
1 c. grape tomatoes (cut in half)
1/2 c. crumbled Feta cheese
2 Tbsp. salted sun flour seeds 
Newmans Own Balsamic vinagrette salad dressing

1-Place spinach, halved tomatoes, Feta cheese and sun flour seeds in a medium bowl
2- Toss lightly with forks
3-Drizzle dressing over the the top
4-Serve chilled


Chicken and Stuffing Casserole


This dish is SO EASY. And one of my "go to" recipes when I can't think of anything to make. My kids LOVE this and almost always have secconds! Serve with warm rolls, and a salad and you have dinner done in no time flat.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, fat trimmed
1 pound (1 large head) of broccoli florets, cooked (I don't reccomend using frozen)
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 Tbsp. mayo (can use light)
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese (I always end up using about 1 1/2 c.)
1 c. dry stuffing mix (I used Herb flavored or a good cornbread stuffing. Chicken flavor would work as well)
pepper to taste
garlic salt to taste

1-Pre heat oven to  350 degrees.
2- Cut chicken breasts in to 1 in. chunks place in large skillet on the stove, and add 1/2 c. water. Add dash of pepper and dash of garlic salt to season. Let chicken cook entirely through, or until all water has evaporated. If you like, you can brown your chicken at this point. (I always do)
3- In a small bowl, mix together soup and mayo. Set aside. In a 9x13 baking dish layer chicken, broccoli, soup mixture, and cheese. Sprinkle dry stuffing mix over the top and bake in the oven for 25-30 min.

*I have made this before and the top turned out a little too crunchy. Here are a few tips that might help. Take 1/4 c. water and pour evenly over the top of the stuffing to soften. Also you can add a few pads of butter to the top. This seemed to help me!

*Tip: Add a can of corn or 1c. frozen, cooked corn. If you do this, be sure to add another 1/2 can. of soup!*

Oreo Delight

My new brother-in-law LOVES Oreo's. Oreo cake, oreo ice cream, oreo's and milk, you name it. So when we had him and my sister over for dinner one Sunday, I decided to make this dessert just for him. It turned out AMAZING. I think even I have a new found love for Oreo's now!

1 package Oreo's, crushed
6 Tbsp butter, melted
1/4 c. sugar
2 Tbsp. milk
1 package cream cheese, softened
1 (12 oz) cool whip, thawed
3 1/4 c. cold milk
2 packages chocolate INSTANT Jell-o pudding

1- Mix crushed cookies and butter in a medium bowl. Press firmly onto the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Refrigerate for 10 mi. Beat cream cheese, sugar, and 2 Tbsp. milk in a medium bowl w/ wire whisk until well blended. Stir in 1 1/4 c. cool whip. Spread over crust.
2-Pour 3 1/4 c. milk into bowl. Add both pudding mixes, beat with wire whisk for 2 min. Pour over the cream cheese layer. Let stand five min. Drop remaining cool whip over pudding and spread. Sprinkle more crushed Oreo's over the top. Refridgerate at least four hours before serving.

*If your like me, then you love the MINT Oreo's! You can use the mint cookies for this recipe as well. At the end sprinkle Andes mints baking chips over the top. Yummm!

Stuffed Mushrooms


These. Are. So. Good. Even my husband who is not a "mushroom lover" likes these. I have made these as an appitizer for a lot of parties, and I am always asked for the recipie afterwards. Warning: you can't eat just one!!

12 whole fresh mushrooms, washed and dried
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 (8oz) pkg. cream cheese, softened (could use light)
1/4 c. grated parmesean cheese
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (could use less if you like, for less of a "kick")

1- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray baking sheet with non stick cooking spray. Carefully break off stems of mushrooms. Chop stems extremely fine, discarding the tough end of the stem.
2- Heat oil in a large skillet over MEDIUM heat. Add garlic and chopped mushroom stems to the skillet. Fry until any moisture has disappeared. Be sure to not burn the garlic (thus the medium heat)  Set aside to cool.
3- When garlic and mushroom mixture is no longer hot, stir in softened cream cheese, parm cheese, black pepper, onion powder, and cayenne pepper. The mixture should be very thick. Taking a small spoon fill each mushroom cap with a generous ammount of filling. Place on prepared baking sheet.
4-Bake for 20 min in the oven or until liquid starts to form under the mushrooms.