late menu

Whoa...where has this week gone? Here's a late posting of our meals for this week:

Monday: marinated steaks, corn on the cob, and salad
Tuesday: Pizza
Wednesday: French toast (it's a family favorite), scrambled eggs, sausage
Thursday: leftovers
Friday: grilled chicken, green beans, fruit salad

We're leaving Saturday for a trip to Michigan to see my husband's brother and his family. We won't be back until Wednesday or Thursday, so I probably won't post until next Friday or so. Hope you all have a marvelous holiday weekend! :)

Creamy Chicken Bacon and Tomato Pasta

I stumbled upon this recipe from Kraftfoods.com several months ago and knew it was something my husband would like--anything with bacon in the title wins around here. It was really quick and easy to make. It's not a new favorite, but it will definitely be in the rotation. It has a unique creamy tomato sauce that I really like. I bet you will, too. So, the next time you feel stuck in the recipe rut, give this one a try!

Creamy Chicken, Bacon & Tomato Pasta

Ingredients:
3 cups whole wheat farfalle (bow-tie pasta)
uncooked 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
3 slices OSCAR MAYER Bacon, cooked, crumbled
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) PHILADELPHIA 1/3 Less Fat Cream Cheese, cubed
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp. pepper
3 Tbsp. KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese


1. Cook pasta as directed on package.
2. Meanwhile, cook chicken in large skillet on medium heat 5 to 6 min. or until chicken is done, stirring occasionally.
3. Add bacon, tomatoes, cream cheese, water and pepper; mix well.
4. Cook 3 min. or until cream cheese is completely melted and mixture is well blended, stirring frequently.
5. Drain pasta; place in serving bowl. Add sauce; mix lightly. Sprinkle with Parmesan.

What's for dinner?

Well, after a lovely weekend, I'm refreshed and ready for a new week. I'm trying one new recipe this week. I'll blog about it soon. With the weather turning warmer, I'm definitely looking for some grilling favorites to try. I'd love to hear from you. What's your favorite thing to grill or your favorite marinade? What's your favorite summertime food? Around here, our favorite is probably marinated grilled chicken and baked beans and summery fruits--watermelon, strawberries, blueberries, etc.
Here's our menu for the week:
Monday: brats, baked beans, fruit
Tuesday: Creamy chicken, tomato and bacon pasta
Wednesday: bbq ribs
Thursday: Raspberry Chicken
Friday: Spaghetti and Meatballs
Saturday: leftovers

Nancy's Pizza Roll/Calzone

For at least 6 months, I have been hearing about this calzone/pizza roll that my friend and neighbor makes and often gives to other families. I knew it was something that my family would like since we love pizza and stombolli. And actually, while we lived in Virginia there was a great place called Vinnie's that had calzone's that Pete and I loved, so I was eager to try my hand at making them at home. It really was pretty easy and the results are fantastic. Everyone loved it--even the picky toddlers!! :) When I asked Nancy about it, she was excited and said that she was actually planning to make it soon and would send me the recipe with some pics. So...today, my sweet friend Nancy is our guest contributor. I also recommend trying to find a cute helper like she did! :)

Here's her recipe and pics:

Nancy's cute helper, Natalie

Pepperoni Roll

1 box Pillsbury hot roll mix
1 egg
1 bag mozzarella cheese
pepperoni
Marinara sauce (for dipping sauce)

Follow the directions on the back of the hot roll mix. (mix all ingredients, knead, let sit 5 mins, ) Then, roll out the dough into a large circle-- about 18" in diameter. Sometimes I sprinkle a little oregano on top of the dough at this point.

*From here there are 2 rolling options--

"Pepperoni ROLL" -- lay pepperoni and cheese all over the dough, then roll up like a cinnamon roll.

"Pepperoni CALZONE" (this has become my favorite, because the dough will rise a lot bigger!)) Only layer LOTS of pepperoni and cheese on half of the dough. Fold over the unused dough and crimp the edges (kind of like on a pie).


Cover and let rise for as long as you can-- I usually let mine rise for like 3 hours! (I start the recipe when the kids go down for naps around 2!)

Brush the top with milk or egg white. Bake at 375 for 15-20 mins, until golden brown.

Slice and eat with warm dipping sauce. I like to serve with a salad.


***Just another note-- I had tried adding more ingredients/toppings inside, and it just is NOT as good as just cheese and pepperoni. Trust me-- and I love LOTS of toppings on my pizza!

This Week

Hubby's traveling this week until late Wednesday, so...meals will be sparce at the beginning of the week. Here's what I'll be serving up:

Monday: French toast--a favorite with the boys, sausage links (aka little hot dogs)
Tuesday: my sweet friend is having us over!
Wednesday: leftovers
Thursday: Barbeque Chicken*--a crockpot recipe from Cooking Light via my mother in law.
Friday: PW's Pot Roast (YUM!) w/ potatoes and carrots, salad and homemade rolls
Saturday: my friend Nancy's calzones*

*recipes w/ pics to come!

Baked Ziti pt.2

Long ago--okay, only a couple of months ago, but long ago sounds so much more...poetic or something--I posted the recipe to Baked Ziti, a family favorite recipe given to us by Heather W. I decided to make it tonight for our church Mannafest meal tomorrow, so I took some pics, since I found the missing camera, and updated that recipe with them. Check it out! :)

Salsa Chicken

At long last, I bring you....drumroll please...Salsa Chicken. Not to be confused with it's cousins Cha-Cha Chicken and Mambo Chicken. I know, my humor, it's way corny. I was told once that it is what made me a good elementary teacher. Anyway, I digress. Salsa chicken...my friend, Kim, recommended this recipe that she found online at Christy's Kitchen Creations quite some time ago. It's been on the list but kept getting moved to the backburner...wow, and the puns just keep on coming. Today was the day, I finally tried it and I'm so glad. It meets all my criteria for becoming a regular around here:
1. easy
2. yummy
3. everyone in my family ate it!
4. pretty inexpensive/low key ingredients
It's a crockpot meal, which is always nice. Since this was my first time making it, I stuck to the directions and served it with rice, as Christy has in her picture that I'm borrowing below. (I've misplaced my camera and even with the help of my superhero sons we can't seem to find it!) The only change I made was that I cut up the chicken into chunks before cooking it. Also, as I was putting away the leftovers tonight, I had a good idea for variation. I would love to pour this stuff over tortilla chips...similar to a chili, chips and cheese but with chicken chunks. Yum! So...here it is folks, enjoy! :)

Salsa Chicken

Ingredients:
3 to 4 skinless-boneless chicken breasts
taco seasoning (as much or little as you want)
1 (16 oz.) jar salsa (mild, medium or hot...please your own tastebuds)
1 can fat free cream of mushroom soup
1 cup fat free sour cream

1. Layer first four ingredients in crock-pot in order listed.
2. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.
3. During last 15 minutes of cooking time, stir in sour cream.
4. Serve over rice.

Source: Christy’s Kitchen Creations