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Crockpot Hawaiian Chicken

For lunch on Sunday I made crockpot Hawaiian chicken. I’ve made it before, but I guess I haven’t posted it. It’s a super simple recipe from A Year of Slowcooking. I modified it a bit this time to make it a little more like sweet and sour chicken. Either way it’s very good! And so easy to make. Just toss a few ingredients in, mix and turn it on. I usually serve it over rice. I sprinkled some crispy pecans over mine for a little crunch.

Crockpot Hawaiian Chicken

enough chicken for 4 (I used 2 large chicken breasts…they were frozen when I put them in. I shredded the meat part way through cooking)
20 oz can of pineapple chunks, drained (I added some of the juice to the crockpot)
1/4 cup soy sauce (I didni’t use much soy sauce this time…not a big fan of soy)
1 tsp. red pepper flakes (I skipped this this time, but it is good in here)
(I added some organic maple syrup to sweeten it a bit. Honey would work well too, but I was out of honey.)
(I added some mixed frozen veggies.)

Place the chicken into the crockpot. Drain the pineapple, and add the chunks with the soy sauce and the red pepper flakes. (Add veggies and honey/syrup.)

Cook on low for 4-6 hours, or on high for 3-4 (I had mine on high for longer.)  Shred chicken or break into smaller chunks if desired.

Serve over rice, quinoa, or on a bed of fresh spinach.

Salmon, Pea and Spinach Pasta

Last night for dinner I made a new pasta recipe. I based it on a recipe from the May 2010 issue of Cooking Light – spring linguine with basil. But then modified it (quite a bit) to use what I had on hand/for our tastes. I knew I wanted to make a pasta with salmon and this looked so simple…and like something I could easily add seafood to. And it was! And very good!! We all liked it. A light, healthy, quick prep meal. I’ll post the original recipe and my mods.

Spring Linguine with Basil
Salmon, Pea and Spinach Pasta

9 oz. uncooked fresh linguine (I used about 8oz. organic whole wheat spaghetti)
1 cup shelled fresh green peas (I used about 1 1/2 cups frozen organic peas)
(I also added some frozen organic chopped spinach)
4 tsp. EVOO
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice (I skipped this)
1/2 tsp. salt (I used more than this)
1/4 tsp. pepper (I skipped this)
(I added garlic powder)
(I added 1 small can of salmon, broken up)
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil (I used dried since I don’t have my fresh basil yet)
2 oz. shaved fresh Paremigiano-Reggiano cheese (I used fresh parmesan)
(I added some chopped crispy pecans)

Cook pasta. Add peas (and spinach) to pasta during the last 2 minutes of cooking time. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup pasta liquid.

Heat oil and butter in pan over medium heat 1 min. Remove from heat (I didn’t do this…I let it keep cooking with the pasta in the pan for a few min.); stir in pasta mixture, pasta water, juice, salt and pepper (and garlic powder, dried basil and salmon). Toss well.

Divide into 4 bowls. Top each with 1 Tbsp. basil and 2 Tbsp. cheese (and 1 oz. pecans).

Whole Wheat Flour and Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

Yesterday I finally tried my new grain mill attachment for my stand mixer. I ground some hard winter wheat berries. It’s so easy. And it makes awesome, soft flour. It is noisy and takes a little time. But not too bad. I made about 4 1/2 cups of flour yesterday. And I’ve already used most of it 🙂  Freshly ground flour really does make your baked goods taste better. I’m excited to do this more often. I just need to find a good source for wheat berries…cheap 🙂

The first thing I tried making with my freshly ground flour was pizza dough for homemade pizza last night. I used the same dough recipe I always use, but modified it slightly to make it 100% whole wheat. This was awesome! It had great flavor and texture. I also made homemade sauce for our pizza. It doesn’t get more homemade than that…all the way down to freshly ground flour. So healthy and so good! I topped mine with tons of veggies. Mmm. This makes me very anxious to try making whole wheat bread with my fresh flour. My camera battery was just about dead, so I had to take a picture as quickly as possible…and didn’t get a very good one. Maybe I’ll try again tonight when we have leftovers. But you can still see the crust.

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

1 Tbsp. active dry yeast
1 Tbsp. cane sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water
1 Tbsp. vital wheat gluten
2 Tbsp. cane sugar
3 Tbsp. EVOO
1/2 Tbsp. salt
4 cups flour (I used 3 cups freshly ground whole wheat flour and 1 cup white whole wheat flour)

Sprinkle yeast, wheat gluten and 1 Tbsp. sugar over water. Let bubble (about 5 min.). Add 2 more Tbsp. sugar, oil, salt and flour. Mix. Cover. Let rise about an hour. Spread on pizza pan. Add toppings. Bake at 450 or 500 for 15-20 min. Let pizza rest a few mintues before cutting.

This makes enough for 2 pizzas or 1 pizza and breadsticks.

Mexican Lasagna

Here is another recipe from my MIL. Also very good.

Mexican Lasagna

1/2 lb. ground beef
2 slices onion, choped
1/2 clove garlic, minced
3/4 cup cottage cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp. cumin
1/8 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cups salsa
2 large whole wheat tortillas (use corn or other GF tortillas to make this GF)
3/4 cup shredded monterey jack or mozzarella cheese

Cook beef, onion and garlic in pan. Drain. Combine the cottage cheese, sour cream, cumin, and salt. Spread 1/2 cup of salsa across the bottom of an 8×8 baking dish. Place 1 tortilla over salsa. Spread half of cottage cheese mixture on top. Top with half of the beef. Top with 1/2 cup of salsa and 1/4 cup of cheese. Repeat layering – tortilla, cottage cheese, beef. Top with remaining salsa and cheese. Bake for 30 min. at 350.

*I think it would be good with some beans added to the cottage cheese mixture.
*It would probably work well to prep this ahead and either freeze it for later use or to bake later in the day.

Burritos

I got this recipe from my MIL. I think she said she got it from my SIL Shannon. Very good!!

Burritos

1 can black beans
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1 green pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
8 whole wheat tortillas (you could use corn or some kind of GF tortillas to make this GF)
1/4 cup sour cream
1 cup salsa
grated colby jack cheese

Saute pepper and onion in oil for 2-4 minutes (do not brown). Add beans, tomatoes, cumin, salsa, chili powder and sour cream. Heat through. Fill tortilla shells with mixutre, sprinkling inside filling with grated cheese. Roll up, place in a 9×13 pan seam side down. Sprinkle top with grated cheese. Bake at 350 for 10 min.

Crockpot Rice and Beans

For lunch yesterday I wanted light, simple, healthy (since I knew Super Bowl evening food wouldn’t be)…rice and beans fit all 3. I got this recipe from A Year of Slow Cooking. It’s so so simple to prep. Literally about 5 min. I’ve never actually made or even had rice and beans. This was really good. All 3 of us liked it. Especially Rebecca. I think she’d eat rice and beans (of any kind) every day 🙂  I replaced the black beans with chick peas for Rebecca’s sake. And I scaled back the rice a bit (I like a different ratio of rice to beans, and I didn’t want to make too much). Since this was cooking while we were at church I couldn’t monitor it. So the rice was pretty mushy, but still very good. Next time I won’t cook it quite as long. I had it on high for a little bit and then on low, total of about 6 hours. This is good on its own, but we added some toppings. I served it with diced green pepper, avocado, salsa, sour cream and cheddar cheese. I’m not a huge sour cream fan, but that really went well with this. A great, cheap, meatless, healthy meal. I’ll be making this again for sure! I bet it would be good with some veggies added in too.

Crockpot Rice and Beans

1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed (I substituted chick peas…any bean will do.)
1 can of pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup of rice (I used organic brown rice. I used 3/4 cups of rice and 1 1/2 cups of liquid.)
1 can (14.5 oz) of diced tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 Tbsp. dried onion flakes (I don’t have onion flakes. I added garlic powder.)

Put the olive oil into the bottom of your crockpot, and add the rice. Swirl the rice around in the olive oil, until it is coated nicely. Add the beans and tomatoes. Add water to the reserved tomato juice to equal 2 cups of liquid. Add to crockpot. Add seasonings. Stir well. Cover and cook on low for about 6 hours, or on high for 3-4.

Black Bean Burrito Bake

We tried a recipe from my SIL last night for black bean burrito bake. This was super easy to make and really good!!! We all liked it. Rebecca helped me make it (that’s how easy it is) and she kept picking things out of the bowl to eat as we went. She LOVES beans…but they don’t always love her 😛  She absolutely loved the filling. She had that plain for dinner with her tortilla on the side instead of together. The filling would work well as a dip. I followed my SIL’s advice and added some of the cheese and salsa to the filling. And also added some chili powder, salt and garlic powder. I didn’t add the chile. We like flavor, but not heat. This comes together really quickly and is a filling, healthy, meatless meal (it would be good with shredded chicken too). I didn’t bother with the food processor. I just mashed the beans with a fork, so I could do everything in one bowl…mash, pour, mix. So easy and hardly any clean up. I easily got 5 burritos out of this. And had some extra for Rebecca to eat plain. I didn’t quite add a full can of black beans. I did add a few pinto beans (Rebecca handles those better). A great recipe! I’m looking forward to having the leftovers for dinner tonight! I served it with sour cream, salsa and avocado. These are quite filling. One burrito was enough for me for a meal.

Black Bean Burrito Bake

1 (7oz.) can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (I didn’t add this)
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1 (15oz.) can black beans, rinsed, drained, and divided (I used 1/2 can for mashing and 1/4 can + 1/4 can pinto beans whole)
1 cup frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed
4 (8-inch) flour tortillas (I used 5 and could have probably done 6; I used whole wheat) (use corn tortillas or other GF tortillas to make this GF)
Cooking spray
1 cup bottled salsa (I added about 3/4 cup to the filling…some homemade (mild) and some organic corn and black bean (medium) and then served more on the side)
1/2 cup (2 oz.) shredded Monterey Jack cheese (I used some MJ and some reduced fat cheddar…I added some to the filling and some on top)
(I also added about 1 tsp. chili powder and a little sprinkle of garlic powder and salt)

Preheat oven to 350°. Remove one chile from can. Chop chile. Reserve remaining adobo sauce and chiles for another use. Combine sour cream and chile in a medium bowl; let stand 10 minutes. (I skipped this.)  Place half of beans in a food processor; process until finely chopped (I just mashed them with a fork). Add chopped beans, remaining beans, and corn to sour cream mixture (I added the whole beans, corn, salsa, cheese, seasoning and plain sour cream to the mashed beans…only used one bowl).

Spoon 1/2 cup bean mixture down the center of each tortilla. Roll up tortillas; place, seam side down, in an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Spread salsa over tortillas (I didn’t do this…gets a bit messy); sprinkle with cheese. Cover and bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until thoroughly heated (I baked 20 min. covered and then about 10 min. uncovered).

Crockpot Cream of Tomato Soup

I’ve been wanting to make tomato soup for quite a while now. While searching for recipes I came across this one on Perfect Entertaining. It sounded simple and good. And it was! Justin and I both really liked it (and Justin has only had tomato soup once or twice in his life!). It went well with grilled cheese. I didn’t follow the directions completely. I didn’t saute the carrots and onions…they get plenty soft during cooking to puree them, so why waste the time? And I used canned tomatoes instead of fresh (a huge time saver…and much better quality tomatoes at this time of year). It still turned out great. This made a very big batch. I decided to remove some of the soup and put it in a sauce pan (enough for our dinner) and then add the cream to that. I froze the rest in smaller containers. Now I have 7 containers of homemade tomato soup on hand! No more boughten canned soup 🙂  I bet it would be good to can this, but I don’t have time right now. But maybe when I run out of my current stock I’ll try that. Overall a great recipe.

Crockpot Cream of Tomato Soup

(This cream of tomato soup is rich and hearty and very delicious. It can be used as a substitute for canned tomato soup with excellent results and cannot be beat when served with grilled cheese sandwiches. Mix and match any of the suggested herbs and spices for a marvelous soup. For a traditional blend we use 2 tablespoons Italian parsley, 1 tablespoon oregano, and 1 tablespoon basil.)

2 Tbsp. olive oil (I didn’t add this)
1 large chopped onion
3 crushed garlic cloves
2 minced carrots (I just did a rough chop into slices)
2 pounds peeled and diced tomatoes (reserve and add all juices) (I used 1 large can of diced tomatoes and 1 large can of crushed tomatoes)
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock or broth
3 Tbsp. tomato paste
2 Tbsp. sugar (I added a little more than this)
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
Salt
Pepper
2-4 Tbsp. freshly chopped herbs (basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, marjoram, savory, chervil, Italian parsley, mint, lavender) or 1-2 tsp. dried herbs or spices (Italian spices, basil, oregano, marjoram, thyme, cumin, curry powder, nutmeg) (I used dried Italian seasoning and garlic powder)
1 cup heavy cream (I used whole milk…what we had on hand)

Combine the oil, onion, garlic, and carrot in the crockpot. Cook on high, stirring frequently, until the onion softens. (This can also be done in a skillet.) (I skipped this step.) Add the remaining ingredients except for the herbs and spices and cream. Cover and cook on low for 8-12 hours (I cooked mine on high for about 7 hours). Add the herbs and adjust seasoning. Cool slightly and puree in small batches (I used an immersion blender). Return to the crockpot and add the cream. Reheat until piping hot, or else cool and chill before serving.

Butternut Squash Soup

I tried a new squash soup for dinner last night. I’ve had some cream cheese in the fridge for a while that I wanted to use up. And I was also trying to use up some squash. I did some searching on All Recipes and came across this recipe. I didn’t follow the recipe completely…ok, not much at all, mostly just the idea of adding cream cheese. We got home later than we had hoped from shopping yesterday so I totally skipped the onions (I’m sure they would be good/add great flavor). And I used squash that I had already cooked (from freezer). So there really wasn’t much to it in terms of cooking. Basically  just throw everything in the pan, heat, blend, serve. It turned out great! Justin and I both really liked it. Rebecca didn’t try it since dinner was running late. I gave her pb and j. And for some reason lately she does not like squash at all so I doubt she would have liked it anyway. Definitely a keeper recipe. The cream cheese adds a unique creaminess to it. I never would have thought of adding that. I’ll post the original recipe and what I did. I didn’t actually measure anything, just added what looked/tasted right. I didn’t get very good pics since I was in a rush.

Butternut Squash Soup

6 Tbsp. chopped onion (I skipped this)
4 Tbsp. margarine (I skipped this)
6 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash (I used a combo of mooregold and butternut squash that I had already baked/mashed…maybe 3 cups?)
3 cups water (I used about 1 1/2 cups)
4 cubes chicken bouillon (I used a few teaspoons of organic chicken better than bouillon)
1/2 tsp. dried marjoram
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/8 tsp. ground cayenne pepper (I skipped this and added some garlic powder, paprika and salt)
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese (I used about 2/3 of one (8 oz.) pkg., softened)

In a large saucepan, saute onions in margarine until tender. Add squash, water, bouillon, marjoram, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Bring to boil; cook 20 minutes, or until squash is tender. (I skipped all of this and just put the squash, seasoning, water, BTB and cream cheese in a pan and heated).

Puree squash and cream cheese in a blender or food processor in batches until smooth. Return to saucepan, and heat through. Do not allow to boil. (I used an immersion blender right in the pan).

Pumpkin Pasta

I tried a new recipe last night for our New Year’s dinner. I’ve been  meaning to try this pasta for a long time. I was hesitant since it’s a pumpkin recipe…and meatless. But no worries now, it was great!! All 3 of us loved it. I was surprised by how much I liked it. Quite a mix of spices, but they really work well together. Definitely a keeper recipe.

I got the recipe from Katelyn’s Food. The original recipe calls for cauliflower added to the pasta. I don’t have any cauliflower right now. So I just made the pasta and served a mix of home grown veggies on the side (beans, corn, zucchini). It still worked great. I served it with a mix of nuts to sprinkle on top for some crunch and protein(cashews, walnuts and pecans). Yum!!

Pumpkin Pasta

8 oz whole wheat pasta
1/2 cup pumpkin puree (I used a little more than this…and could have even added more)
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 cup Chicken broth or liquid of choice
1 head of cauliflower cut into florets, or 1 16 oz bag of frozen cauliflower, thawed
2 tsp. sage (I didn’t add this since I don’t have any, and I don’t see it in the directions :P)
1/2 tsp. rosemary
1 tsp. thyme
1 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
salt and pepper to taste
3 cloves garlic
2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil

Bring water a to a boil. Cook pasta as directed

While pasta is cooking, heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium high. Add garlic, rosemary, thyme. Cook for about 2 minutes. Add cauliflower. Stir to coat with oil. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce to a simmer and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.

Once pasta is cooked, drain & return to stock pot. The cauliflower should be done soon. Once the cauliflower is done, pour into the pasta. Add pumpkin puree, nutmeg, cinnamon, ground pepper, salt and parmesan. Stir to combine. Serve warm.