Italian Herb and Garlic Chicken

I had another meal on the dinner menu that night, but forgot about the ahead of time prep it required and had got caught up with other things that evening. I pulled a Lipton box out of the pantry (always a nifty thing to have in there!) and decided to try it out. I thought it was okay, not good but not bad....however my husband really liked the flavor and gave it a thumbs up. I'll make it again if he remembers it.... :-)

Recipe:
3-4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
1 Packet Lipton Savory Herb & Garlic Dry Soup Mix
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1/3 Cup Water
1 Tbs Olive Oil or Vegetable Oil
1 Can of Diced Tomatoes
1 Cup Mozzarella Cheese

1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Put chicken in 9x13 or 8x8 pan (which is what I did, since I only used 3 breasts). Pour can of tomatoes over chicken.

3.Mix water, oil, and soup mix. Pour over chicken and tomatoes.



4. Bake for 25 minutes. Put cheese on chicken and bake another 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked and cheese is melted.

Chili Pasta Skillet

At the end of each month I try and print off a calendar (has some nice printable free ones "here") and fill eachday with a potential dinner. It takes the guess work out of my day and I can go to the grocery store once a week to get all the ingredients I need. I have found this to not only cut down on traveling, and the hassle of lugging my spunky kid through the aisles in a cart, but overall it saves money! I recommend highly...

SO, while I was in one of my planning moods and writing out the rest of September meals, I came across this one that sounded interesting, and had little prep time! I gave it a shot, and it was not half bad. Not fantastic, but not bad. ...and be prepared, it makes a lot! We ate it and thought "okay, that was different (with the pasta in it)" and thought nothing much of it. I had it a few times as a left over for lunch and you know what? It is much better as a leftover! (to me at least). Scoop it out and warm it up, sprinkle some cheese, plop a little sour cream and grab a hand full of tortilla chips. Not too bad at all...

Recipe:
1 lb Lean Ground Beef
3/4 Cup Chopped Onion
1 (15-15.5oz) Can of Black, Red, or Kidney beans
1 (14.5oz) can of diced Tomatoes, undrained
1 (8oz) can of Tomato Sauce
1 (4 oz) can Diced Green Chile Peppers, drained
1 Cup Elbow Macaroni (4 oz)
2 to 3 tsp Chili Powder
1/2 tsp Garlic salt
1/2 Cup of Shredded Cheese

1. In a large skillet cook mean and onion until meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain off fat.



2. Stir in beans, undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce, chile peppers, macaroni, chili powder, and garlic salt. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered (I did not have a big enough cover, so left without) about 20 mins, or until macaroni is tender, stirring often.

3.Remove from heat; sprinkle with cheese/ Cover and let stand for about 2 mins, or until cheese melts.

(note: without cheese on)

That's it! You're done friend! Now try it with the yummy cornbread recipe below this post! :-)

Creamy Meatballs

My son Carter is a pretty decent meat eater (for a 20 month old). I was thawing out 1lb of meat for Sloppy Joes and realized I did not have any seasoning left. The meat was already soft, so I thought I might try my hand at a nice creamy meatball recipe. The outcome was very yummy, and Carter ate it up! This of course is a victory for any mom out there trying to feed a toddler. ** KID APPROVED** Very quick recipe, only 3 ingredients! Serves up great over plain pasta noodles (not spaghetti type meatball) or by themselves with a salad and potatoes.

Recipe:
1 lb of ground beef or ground turkey
1 can of Cream of Mushroom
1 package of Liptons Onion soup mix

1. Roll your meat into desired ball size, and place in a skillet. Brown each side, then cook fully (browning first helps keep your meatballs in round shape, before you move them around a lot while thoroughly cooking)

2. Add in your can of Cream of Mushroom, and your package of Onion soup mix (adding the proper water amount as stated with the mix)

3. Mix and turn on medium/low heat. Allow mixture to thicken and then turn to simmer.

YOUR DONE! Wow, awesome... enjoy the tastiness you just created. :)