Tilapia Parmesan

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup butter, softened

2 TBS mayonnaise

1 Lemon, juiced

1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1/8 tsp onion powder

2-4 tilapia fillets

 

 Preheat oven broiler.  Grease a broiling pan or line it with foil.

 In a small bowl, mix together Parmesan, butter, mayo, and lemon juice.  Season with pepper and onion powder.  Mix well and set aside.

 Arrange tilapia fillets on the prepared pan.  Broil a few inches from the heat for 2-3 minutes.  Flip the fillets over and broil for a couple more minutes.

Remove from the oven and spread Parmesan mixture over the fillets.  Broil for 2 more minutes, or until the topping is browned and the fish flakes easily with a fork.  Be careful not to overcook.  

 

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Man-Pleasing Chicken

Chicken thighs- 1 package
Dijon mustard- 1/2 cup
Maple syrup- 1/4 cup
Rice wine vinegar- 1 tablespoon

Preheat your oven to 450ºF. Then, mix together 1/2 cup of dijon mustard, 1/4 cup of maple syrup, and 1 tablespoon of rice wine vinegar. Put a 1.5 pound package of chicken thighs into an oven-proof baking dish.  Then, salt and pepper the thighs. Pour your maple mustard mixture over them, turning the thighs in the mixture so they are fully coated.  Put the chicken thighs into the oven, and let them bake for 40 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 165ºF. Baste the tops of the chicken with more sauce half way through.  Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before serving. Plate the chicken, making sure to spoon some extra sauce over the top. Sprinkle over some fresh rosemary.

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Melt in your mouth chicken

4 boneless chicken breast halves
1 cup mayonnaise
½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 ½ teaspoons seasoning salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder

Mix mayonnaise, cheese and seasonings.

Spread mixture over chicken breast and place in baking dish.

Bake at 375°F for 45 minutes.

After I tried this recipe, I found it to be kind of average.  Not bad, but not wow either.  Hubs liked it.

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Pork Tenderloin

 

 

Pork Center Cut Loin Filet by Hormel

McCormick Bag and Season Herb Roasted Pork Tenderloin packet

 

All of these directions are on the packet, but I'll put them here just to prove how easy it is! Preheat oven to 350.   The plastic bag comes in the packet...just take it out, put it in a pan and place the pork tenderloin inside.  Sprinkle the seasoning mix evenly over the tenderloin and turn to coat. Close bag with the nylon tie that comes in the packet and cut 4 small holes in the top of the bag.  OK, the directions on the packet say to bake in the lower half of your oven for 25 -30 minutes. However, I followed the directions on the tenderloin and it told me to bake it for 45 minutes. Go with what your tenderloin directions say because it will depend on how big of tenderloin you buy.  Let it stand for 5 minutes before slicing.

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Crock Pot Beef Roast

1 beef roast (I prefer chuck) sized to fit your crockpot
1 package Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing mix
1 package brown gravy mix
1 package Italian dressing mix
1/2 cup very warm water
diced potatoes
baby carrots

 Place vegetables in bottom of crock pot.  Place roast on top of vegetables. In a bowl combine the envelopes of mixes together.  Sprinkle on top of the roast and veggies.  Pour in 1/2 cup warm water. Cook on low for 6-7 hours.
For the gravy, just pour the liquid from your crockpot into a sauce pan and bring to a boil. I usually thicken with a cornsatrch slurry. Some cornstarch mixed with cold water. Make sure the drippings are boiling before you add the cold water mix. Makes a delicious gravy.

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Quick Chicken Salad

2 ( 12.5 oz) cans of chicken (or 3 cups diced cooked chicken)
3/4 cup light mayonnaise
1 cup red grapes, halved
1 green onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1/2 cup diced apple
salt and pepper to taste
pecans or cashews, optional


In a bowl, combine the chicken, mayo, grapes, green onion, celery, apple, salt, and pepper.  Combine until well blended.
Serve on rolls, bread, or croissants sprinkle with some cashews or pecans.  This can also be served on a lettuce leaf.

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Roasted Vegetable Medley

Toss raw veggies with a little Italian salad dressing, then spread across a foil-lined pan.  Bake at 400 for almost an hour.  In the last 10 minutes of cooking, sprinkle the veggies with parmesan cheese.
Veggie ideas:  red potatoes, russet potatoes, zucchini, red bell pepper, onion, baby carrots, sweet potatoes, and garlic cloves.

Roasted Parmesan Green Beans

12 oz green beans, trimmed (make sure they are dry)
2 tsp olive oil
kosher salt + fresh cracked pepper to taste
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tbsp shredded parmesan

 Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum for easy clean-up.
Lay green beans out on the baking sheet and drizzle oil over them. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder and toss to evenly coat.  Spread them out on the sheet so that they all lay flat and place on the lower third section of your oven. Bake 10 minutes, shake the pan to turn; bake 5 additional minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with grated cheese.

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Less Mess Bacon

*** This works best on thick-cut bacon.

This spatter-free technique puts the "bake" back in bacon. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper, then lay the bacon strips flat, making sure pieces do not overlap. Bake until crisp and browned, 15 to 18 minutes, or desired doneness, rotating the sheets once. Transfer strips to a paper towel to drain.

*** Also works well to line the pan with foil, then put a metal cooling rack on top of it and place the bacon on that.  That way, the grease actually drains away from the bacon.

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Taquito-Enchilada Bake

1 (20-oz.) can red enchilada sauce

1

(20.0-oz) box José Olé® Shredded Steak Taquitos or 1 (22.5-oz) Chicken & Cheese Taquitos, partially thawed

1 1/2 cups shredded 3-cheese Mexican blend, divided
1 (16-oz.) can refried beans, heated
1/3 cup each: sliced green onions and diced red onions (combined)
1 (2.25-oz.) can sliced black olives, drained (optional)
Sour Cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Pour 1/3 of the enchilada sauce into a lightly greased 11x7x2-inch baking dish. Arrange 1/2 of the José Olé® Taquitos over enchilada sauce. Evenly spread heated refried beans over taquitos. Layer 1/3 more sauce, 1/2 the onion mixture and 1/2 the shredded cheese. Top with remaining taquitos and enchilada sauce. Bake, covered, for 25 minutes or until heated through. The last 5 minutes of baking, top with remaining cheese. Garnish with onions and olives. Serve with sour cream if desired. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Baking Time: 25 minutes

Serving Suggestions: This family favorite can be made with José Olé® Mini Chimichangas.

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Honey Garlic Pork Chops

1/4 + 1/8 cup honey
3 tbsp soy sauce
6 cloves garlic, minced
6 pork loin chops, boneless, trimmed of excess fat, 4 oz each 

(cracked pepper? corn starch?)

In a shallow dish, whisk together honey, soy sauce and garlic.
Coat chops in mixture.
Reserve left over honey mixture for basting.
Place chops on greased grill over med high heat, close lid and cook. basting 2 times.

Suggestions:  Marinate before hand, and could bake in juices at 375 for 30 - 40 minutes.

Hobo Dinners

3 sheets of heavy-duty foil
10-12 baby red potatoes, thinly sliced
6 slices of cooked and crumbled bacon (or sauteed kielbasa)
cooked corn
sliced onion
1 packet ranch dressing mix
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons butter
Sour cream for serving, if desired

1. Spray each sheet of foil with cooking spray. Top each piece with equal portions of potatoes, bacon, and ranch dressing mix. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add 1 tablespoon of butter to each serving. Wrap securely.

2. Grill for 20 to 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Serve in foil, topped with sour cream if desired.  You could also cook these in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes.

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Roasted Broccoli

You preheat the oven to 425.
Take 4 to 5 pounds of broccoli (I just got two large bunches), cut into florets (but relatively big ones.) Here’s the key that she doesn’t mention in the recipe: dry them THOROUGHLY. That is, if you wash them. I saw an episode of Julia Child cooking with Jacques Pepin once when Pepin revealed he doesn’t wash a chicken before putting it in a hot oven: “The heat kills all the germs,” he said in his French accent. “If bacteria could survive that oven, it deserves to kill me.” By that logic, then, I didn’t wash my broccoli; I wanted it to get crispy and brown. If you’re nervous, though, just wash and dry it obsessively.
Now, it’s easy. Put the broccoli on a cookie sheet. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. (She says 5 Tbs olive oil, 1 1/2 tsps kosher salt, 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper, but I just eyeballed it.) Now add 4 garlic cloves that are peeled and sliced and toss them in too.
Roast in the oven 20 to 25 minutes, until “crisp-tender and the tips of some of the florets are browned.”
I shook the pan around a bit as it went, but not sure that’s necessary.
When it’s done, take it out of the oven–and here’s where it gets really good–zest a lemon over the broccoli, squeeze the lemon juice over the broccoli, add 1.5 Tbs more olive oil, 3 Tbs toasted pine nuts (I left those out), and 1/3 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. She also has you add 2 Tbs julienned fresh basil, but I left that out too.
 Ruth: "This was delicious, but next time, I would go easier on the lemon juice and salt. Also, doesn't need to bake quite as long as it says."

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Mom's Bean Soup

1 lb. dried beans (about 2 cups) (Dad's recipe called for red beans.  I use pinto since that's what I have)
1 smoked ham hock
1 lb. smoked sausage
2 onions (chopped)
1 g. pepper
1 bunch g. onion (chopped)
2 stalks celery (chopped)
1 qrt. chicken stock
1 qrt. water
2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. onion powder
1 1/2 tsp. sweet basil leaves
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. dried oregano leaves
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. white pepper
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

I usually half it for our family.  If I don't have a ham hock I just use diced ham.
Soak beans overnight.  Brown sliced sausage in PAM coated soup pot.  Remove sausage and set aside.  Cook onion, g. onion, g. pepper, and celery until transparent.  Add chicken stock, sausage, beans, water, spices, and ham hock.  Simmer 2-3 hours minimum.  Remove ham hock and allow to cool.  Trim meat and put back in soup.  Simmer a little longer.
Dad's note when he gave me this recipe is that he used bratwurst type sausage, and possibly not even the ham.

Crockpot Beef Stroganoff

2 pounds cubed stew meat
2 cans Condensed Golden Mushroom Soup
1 largish onion diced
2-3-4 tabls of Worcestershire (this stuff is so awesome I always add more)
1/2 water
8 oz of cream cheese (the first time I made this with just 1lb of meat I still added 8 oz's, sshh don't tell my lactose intolerant hubbie)
couple of dashes of Garlic Salt (1 tsp?)
couple dashes of Hot Paprika (see I just can't believe this would be good without some sort of kick)

 In the slow cooker stir in all the ingredients, except the meat AND the Cream Cheese, together. Once combined add the meat and mix together.

Cook on Low for 8 hours. Cut up the cream cheese into cubes just before serving and turn crockpot on high. Stir the cream cheese in until all combined. You might have to put the lid back on and leave for 10 minutes.

Serve over egg noodles. Or mashed potatoes, I won't tell anyone but I would really like to not be alone in this.

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Parmesan Crusted Tilapia

• 3 -4 tilapia fillets , depending on size
• ¼ cup breadcrumbs or ¼ cup crushed Ritz cracker
• ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• salt
• pepper
• garlic powder
• olive oil

Directions:

Thaw and wash tilapia fillets if frozen. Pat dry on paper towels.  Combine crumbs, parmesan, italian seasoning and garlic powder on a plate, mixing well.  On a different plate, pour 1 tbsp lemon juice.  Working 1 at a time, place a fillet on the plate in the lemon juice, sprinkle with desired amount of kosher salt (be careful about how much salt is in your parmesan, crumbs, and other seasonings), black pepper, and garlic powder. Turn the fillet over in the lemon juice and sprinkle seasoning on the other side.  Dredge fillet in the parmesan mixture patting it all over to coat.  Place in an oiled baking dish, repeat with remaining fillets.  Sprinkle a little lemon juice over fillets and drizzle or spray them lightly with olive oil.  Bake at 425ºF for about 20 minutes or until they easily flake with a fork and edges are browning (you can sprinkle some more parmesan on top if desired). You can also bake these faster at 450ºF.  

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Sticky Buns

Ingredients:
18 frozen Rhodes rolls
1 pkg. cook and serve butterscotch pudding (3.5 oz)
1 stick butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar

Spray bundt pan with cooking spray.  Drop 18 rolls evenly in pan.  Sprinkle 1/2 pudding package on top.  Heat butter & brown sugar in microwave for 1 minute.  Stir to dissolve.  Drizzle over rolls.  Cover with wax paper sprayed with cooking spray.  Let rise overnight.  Remove wax paper and bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees.  After removing from oven, turn pan over on a plate, then remove pan (watch out for juice drippings).

Roasted Broccoli

Take 4 to 5 pounds of broccoli (I just got two large bunches), cut into florets (but relatively big ones.) Here’s the key that she doesn’t mention in the recipe: dry them THOROUGHLY. 
Now, it’s easy. Put the broccoli on a cookie sheet. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. (She says 5 Tbs olive oil, 1 1/2 tsps kosher salt, 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper, but I just eyeballed it.) Now add 4 garlic cloves that are peeled and sliced and toss them in too. 
Roast in the oven 20 to 25 minutes, until “crisp-tender and the tips of some of the florets are browned.”
I shook the pan around a bit as it went, but not sure that’s necessary.
When it’s done, take it out of the oven–and here’s where it gets really good–zest a lemon over the broccoli, squeeze the lemon juice over the broccoli, add 1.5 Tbs more olive oil, 3 Tbs toasted pine nuts (I left those out), and 1/3 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. She also has you add 2 Tbs julienned fresh basil, but I left that out too.

Original Source

Olive Garden Salad Dressing

Ingredients:

1 packet Good Seasonings Italian Dressing

(Ingredients needed to make dressing; oil, water, vinegar)

½ tsp. dried Italian Seasoning

½ tsp. table salt

¼ tsp. black pepper

½ tsp. sugar

¼ tsp. garlic powder

½ tbsp. mayonnaise (no Miracle Whip, please)

¼ cup olive oil

2 tbs. white vinegar

1 ½ tbsp. water

 

Prepare Good Seasonings Italian Seasonings Dressing as it states on back of packet. 

Once prepared, pour dressing in a medium bowl, then add additional ingredients

listed above (starting with the dried Italian Seasoning).  Using a whisk, mix all ingredients until mixed thoroughly combined and pour it into a container with a lid. 

Store unused dressing in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks. 

Be sure to give the bottle a good shake before using.

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Pretty Pacifier Cupcakes

Color the frosting as desired, use life saver breathmints (held together with white frosting), then add jelly beans (also held together with frosting.)

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Baby Shower Punch

1 gallon Hawaiian Punch - Polar Blast (it's blue)

1 - 2 litter 7-Up!

 

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Oven Baked Barbecue Ribs

• 4 lbs pork ribs
• ¾ cup light brown sugar
• liquid smoke, to taste
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon ground red pepper (optional)
• 2 cups of your favorite barbecue sauce (mine is Sweet Baby Ray) 

Preheat oven to 300 degrees f.

Peel off tough membrane that covers the bony side of the ribs.

Mix together the brown sugar, paprika, garlic powder, and red pepper to make the rub.

Brush the ribs with a little liquid smoke (don't overdo it).

Apply rub to ribs on all sides.

Lay ribs on two layers of foil, shiny side out and meaty side down.

Lay two layers of foil on top of ribs and roll and crimp edges tightly, edges facing up to seal.

Place on baking sheet and bake for 2-2 1/2 hours or until meat is starting to shrink away from the ends of the bone.

Remove from oven, remove top layer of foil.

Increase oven temperature to 350.

Cut ribs into serving sized portions of 2 or 3 ribs.

Brush on sauce.

Bake for 15 minutes on each side.

Alternately, you can grill or broil the ribs to cook on the sauce.

Original source found HERE.

Chicken, Bacon, and Cream Cheese Mini Taquitos

1/3 of a 16-ounce package bacon (about 6 slices), chopped
1/2 of an 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
2 cans (12.5 ounces each) Swanson® Premium White Chunk Chicken Breast in Water, drained (or used leftover cooked chicken)
8 flour tortillas (10-inch)
Vegetable oil (I used canola)
1 medium avocado, pitted, peeled and cut up
1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon milk

1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar

1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1/8 teaspoon onion powder

dash Dried dill weed

dash Garlic powder
dash Ground black pepper

 So yummy and so easy. I just used small whole wheat tortillas rather than cut out circles. And I used store-bought guacamole.

1.Cook the bacon in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove the bacon from the skillet and drain on paper towels.

2.Stir the bacon, cream cheese and chicken in a medium bowl.

3.Cut each tortilla into 3 (3-inch) circles using a round cutter. Spoon about 2 teaspoons chicken mixture in the center of each (one) tortilla round. Roll the tortillas around the filling and secure with toothpicks.

4.Pour the oil into a heavy 4-quart saucepan to a depth of 3 inches. Heat the oil to 350°F.

5.Add the taquitos to the saucepan in batches and cook until well browned on all sides. Remove the taquitos from the saucepan and let drain on paper towels. Let cool for 5 minutes. Remove the toothpicks before serving.

6.Mash the avocado in a medium bowl with a fork. Stir in the mayonnaise, sour cream, milk, vinegar, salt, parsley, onion powder, dill weed, garlic powder and black pepper. Serve with the taquitos for dipping.

Original Post 

Shredding chicken the easy way

Perfectly shredded chicken in seconds.... throw cooked chicken (still warm/hot) in Kitchen Aid with the paddle attachment. Turn to speed 4-6 and in 20 seconds you'll have perfect, restaurant style shredded chicken. Ruth: Genius. So quick, so easy. My only suggestion would be to use a shield or wrap a dishtowel around the top of the bowl so nothing gets flung around.