Verde Chicken Tacos

This is probably one of the best recipes I have ever made and a new family favorite. It was extremely filling, healthy, and delicious. Guy Fieri has a new salsa line out that I have been dying to work with. Yesterday while I was at the grocery store I came across his "Verde Salsa" and knew exactly what I wanted to do with it! Chicken Taco's. But not your ordinary Chicken Taco's, after I cooked the chicken I poured the entire bottle of salsa into the shredded chicken and let it slowly simmer and allow the chicken to soak up the juice from the salsa. Every bit got a little bit better!

Printable Recipe 

Ingredients

3 boneless skinless chicken breast

1 Bottle of Guy Fieri's chicken tacos

1 can of black beans

Flour tortillas

Bag of "taco" cheese

Any other "Taco" toppings you would like. We used tomatoes and avocado

Directions:

In a large pot boil your chicken for approx 45 minutes

Take chicken out and shred

Add to a saute pan and pour in your entire bottle of salsa.

Let simmer for approx 15 minutes.

In another stove top pan- place your entire can of black beans including the juice- Cook till beans are warmed through. 

Pour black beans once cooked, directly into the pan with the chicken and salsa. (You can keep the beans separate if you like)

Warm up your tortillas and then add chicken mixture and any other toppings you would like!

Sloppy Roll

I love a good gooey sloppy joe! But last night it turned into a little bit of a project when I realized I had no buns! :-( But I did have crescent rolls! 

Printable Recipe

Ingredients  

1 Can of crescent rolls

1 lb of meat

Shredded cheese (whatever kind you want)

1 can of Manwhich

Directions

In a large stovetop pan, brown your meat. Once meat is browned add your manwich mixture. Add your cheese to your meat mixture so that it melts. I used about 1 big handful of cheese.

On a cookie sheet add your crescent rolls. Your can comes with 8 rolls, but you want to use 2 together. (Picture below) make sure you pinch the seams of your dough together. 

Place your gooey mixture on the dough. Leave enough room so that you can fold it. together. (See Below)

Cook in the oven at 350 for about 10 minutes.

When ready to serve add more cheese to the top! 

BBQ Pulled Pork

My husband loves pulled pork.  But there is really no place around our house that does a great pulled pork. So instead of going out to dinner and being disappointed, I decided to make up my own! So much cheaper than going out and waaaay better!

Printable Recipe

Ingredients
3 lbs of pork shoulder
1 can of your favorite soda
1 bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce
Pack of buns.
Dry rub.




Dry Rub Ingredients
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp cayenne pepper (I like it spicy)
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp ground pepper
1 tbsp paprika
1/2 cup brown sugar




Directions
Mix all dry rub ingredients together in a bowl.
Take your Pork shoulder and coat all sides with your dry rub. Use it ALL, massage it into the meat. 
Place in a slow cooker, pour your can of soda over the top of your pork.
Cook on high for approx 5-6 hours or until your meat starts to shred. 
Mine cooked for approx 5 hours, then I took it out of the crockpot, took all the meat off the bone and put it back in the crockpot. I then added all my BBQ sauce. Mixed it together and let it cook for another hour so that all the flavors came together. 

Tortellini Taco Bake

He wanted taco's, I wanted Pasta...  A marriage is about meeting halfway, so behold the Tortellini Taco Bake! 

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1/2 package of cream cheese, softened

2 cups of taco cheese

1 packet of taco seasoning

1 lb ground beef

12oz (ish) of cheese tortellini

Directions

Brown your beef in a frying pan. When complete add taco seasoning (follow direction on back of taco seasoning)

Add your tortellini to a large pot of boiling water. Cook until your tortellini's starts to float, then drain water. 

In a large mixing bowl add your cream cheese and 1 cup of your taco cheese. Mix together.

Once you meat is finished add to the bowl of cheese. Mix together well. The heat of the meat will start to melt the cheese.

After your meat and cheese is mixed together, add your tortellini and slowly fold into the mixture. The tortellini  might be a little fragile so fold carefully. 

Once everything is mixed together, pour into a baking dish and add the remaining 1 cup of taco cheese to the top. 

Cover with foil and cook at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, remove foil and put back in oven for an additional 5-10 minutes until your cheese started to brown.

Chicken Enchilada Soup!

On a cold fall night there is nothing more I want than soup. I was getting tired of the same old stuff, so back to my family roots I went and pulled out a recipe for Chicken Enchilada Soup. The picture above is the basic things you need. You can add whatever seasonings you want to make it spicier.

Printable Recipe

Ingredients
2 cans of black beans
2 14.5 oz cans of diced tomatoes (I blend them because I don't like chunky tomatoes) 
29 oz of Enchilada sauce
26 oz of Cream of chicken condensed soup
1 can of corn
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
(I added 1 tablespoon of cayenne pepper for a little more spice) 


Directions
Place your 4 chicken breast in a pot of water. Boil approx 30 minutes until chicken is completely cooked. 
While chicken is cooking place all your beans, corn, and tomatoes in a crock pot or a large pot on the stove. Make sure to drain the bean and corn juices. 
In a separate bowl mix together your cream of chicken and enchilada sauce. Once completely mixed together add to your other ingredients.
Once chicken is done cooking, shred and add to pot of all the other ingredients. 
Cook for approx 1 hour so that the soup will thicken and all the flavors blend together. 
Serve with any of your favorite toppings. I used grated cheese, crushed tortilla chips and sour cream!!


:-( Sorry I don't have a finished picture, the soup got eaten so fast I didn't have time to take one.

Orange Chicken

We got this incredible Wok as a wedding present and I have been dying to use it. My all time favorite Chinese meal is Orange Chicken. Time to put that Wok to good use!

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

2 diced up boneless skinless chicken breast

3 eggs

Chili Powder 

Garlic Powder

Flour

Vegtable Oil

Salt & Pepper

Package of Orange seasoning (I got this in the international section at my super market)

Brown Rice


Directions
Cook the brown rice according to the package directions. scramble 1 egg and add to rise. Set aside


In a small bowl mix together 2 eggs, salt, pepper, garlic & chili powder (you can use as much or little seasoning as you like) In another bowl add approx 1 cup of flour


Take your diced chicken pieces and coat in egg mixture then toss in flour mixture. Once all chicken is coated place in a hot pan with oil, or a wok :-)


Toss around until chicken is completely cooked. 


Toss in orange seasoning mix, let sit for a few minutes to catch onto all the chicken, serve over your rice and Enjoy!! 


*** Check orange seasoning mix, you might need to mix it with oil/water before throwing it in with the chicken***

Paquete

Ok! Here is a challenge for everyone!! This was extremely cheap and VERY delicious. But I could not come up with a name for it!! So we are going to have a little fun.

The challenge is for you to make this recipe and come up with a name for it! I will leave this challenge open until September 23rd at 3:00pm est. I will pick the best name that I get and for all your hard work I will send the winner a $20 gift card to their local grocery store!!   

ENJOY!! I can't wait to see what you come up with!! I would love to see pictures!! Email your entry to mannacrouch@yahoo.com

** The lucky winner came from Reddit.com. Paquete means bundle in Spanish! I thought it was a great fit

Thank you everyone who emailed me!!** 

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 package of crescent rolls

1 can of re-fried beans

1 lb hamburger meat

1 package of taco seasoning

4 cups of whatever cheese you want. I used Pepper jack and cheddar

Bag of tortilla chips

Directions:

Brown hamburger meat in a skillet. 

Add taco seasoning to browned hamburger meat (follow instructions on the package) let simmer

Break up croissants into 4 squares.

Add re-fried beans, then taco meat, then cheese and crushed up tortilla chips

Fold all sides and corners in. 

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until brown.

Italian bread Pizza

Movie/Dinner night with my husband. He picks the movie, I make dinner. Pizza always ends up being our dinner/movie night choice. But to make it a little different, I decided to make a French bread pizza. When I was at the grocery store they didn't have any French bread, so I grabbed a loaf of Italian bread. 

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1 Loaf of Italian bread

4 cups of mozzarella cheese (I love cheese)

1 package of sliced pepperoni

1 jar of pizza sauce

Directions

Slice bread in half 

Place a thin layer of cheese on the bread

Spoon your pizza sauce over the top of your cheese, as much as you would like.

Add more cheese on top of your sauce

Add pepperoni on top of you cheese 

and more cheese on top of your pepperoni.

You can add as much cheese and pepperoni as you would like.

Bake in the over at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until all cheese is melted. It was so cheesy and very crunchy!! 

Chicken Enchiladas

Chicken Enchiladas is probably the first thing I ever learned to make. I was raised in a multicultural home and Mexican food was on the dinner table at least 4 days a week. My mom has been teaching me to make Mexican food since I was old enough to stand on a chair next to her in the kitchen. My love for the flavors  and ingredients have grown over the years and I truly respect the Mexican culture. 

This recipe is very simple, but a little messy. 

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

4 Chicken breast

1 small onion

4 cups of "Mexican cheese" 

28 oz of Enchilada Sauce (you will have extra)

12 medium tortillas

1 can of chopped olives

Directions

Add water to a large pot, add your chicken breast and boil approx 30 minutes or until your chicken is done. 

Remove chicken from pot and shred.

Add approx 16 oz of enchilada sauce to frying pan. Cook on low heat approx 20 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken up a little bit.

Add 1 tortilla to sauce, coat both sides in sauce. 

Place tortilla on plate and fill with chicken, cheese, olives, onions. (You can fill with whatever ingredients you want)

Roll tortilla and place seam side down in baking dish

Place some additional sauce & cheese on top of enchiladas

Cover baking dish with foil

Bake at 350 degrees for approx 20 minutes. 

Served with Sour Cream & Guacamole. 

Ricotta Gnocchi

 I was trying to impress my husband with something delicious for dinner. So I went out on a huge limb in an attempt to make gnocchi. The second he saw what I was making he chuckled and I cringed. Was this going to be the first recipe I completely ruined?! It was not! To my surprise as well as my husbands, it was delicious!  I made way to much and was able to freeze the leftovers for next time!! 

Printable Recipe

Ingredients
15oz Ricotta Cheese
1 Egg
1 tsp Olive Oil
2 cups Flour
Salt & Pepper


Directions
In a medium bowl whisk together the ricotta cheese, oil, egg, salt and pepper.


Add the flour approx 1/2 a cup at a time.


Knead the dough on a floured surface until the dough is soft.


Cut the dough into 6 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope, cut the rope into approx 1/2 inch sections.


Boil a large pot of water. Add Gnocchi to boiling water. When Gnocchi float they are finished. Drain and serve with your favorite sauce. I used Mom's Alfredo Sauce! 

Cookie Dough Egg rolls

I made homemade cookie dough the other night and I wanted to use it all up before it went bad. I wanted something crunchy tough. While going through my fridge I found wonton wrappers. Oh yea! That is how cookie dough egg rolls came into my life! 

Ingredients

Homemade Cookie dough or store bought cookie dough

Vegetable Oil

Won ton wrappers

 Directions

Take about 1/2 tablespoon of cookie dough and place it in the center of a wonton wrapper.


Brush water along the edges of the wonton wrapper and roll. Fold the edges over the side.


Add to hot oil for approx 1 minute per side. Take out and place on paper towel to drain. Add something delicious on top. I used powder sugar. You can probably use anything sweet you would like. 

Mom's Alfredo Sauce

I don't think I will ever be able to cook like my mother. But I can always try. Growing up this was one of my favorite things to eat! I love Alfredo sauce, I would pour it on everything if I knew it would be delicious. My mom always made the best Alfredo sauce I have ever eaten. I called her to get the recipe, did what she said and still it was not the same. It was good, but it wasn't mom's. 

Ingredients
1 Pint Heavy cream
1 tsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic minced.
Approx 1.5 cups Parmesan cheese
Salt & Pepper
1 tbsp Italian seasoning.


Directions
In a large sauce pan add olive oil and garlic. Cook a few minutes until the garlic is tender


While continually stirring add your heavy cream. Add cheese 1/2 a cup at a time, keep stirring,  this will help melt the cheese and not let the sauce burn. Add your Italian seasoning


Once you are done adding the final 1/2 cup of cheese it should thicken up a little bit. Remove from heat, let 
sit 5 minutes, then add over pasta.

My family :-) 

Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Chicken

My old roommate Amy came over for dinner. She is on a diet so I wanted to attempt something a little on the healthier side that was still yummy!  So  of course my first thought was chicken! Plain chicken is boring so to the fridge I went! 


Spinach screams "Healthy" to me, so I knew I wanted to use that. I also had a small container of skim ricotta cheese- PERFECT! So together they went added a little bit of spices and Walla- Healthy delicious dinner accomplished!! 

Printable Recipe


Ingredients

4 chicken breast
12 oz part skim ricotta
16 ounces fresh spinach (you can use frozen spinach if you would like, 1 bag.)
3/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
2 egg whites
salt, pepper, garlic powder
 

Directions
Pound your chicken breast very thin.              



In a bowl, chop up your spinach very fine. Place spinach in a bowl with your ricotta cheese, some salt, pepper and garlic powder.


Beat 2 egg whites on a plate & pour your bread crumbs onto another plate
 
Lightly coat the chicken in the egg and then in the breadcrumbs. Place in a pan sprayed with cooking spray

Put the spinach mixture on top of the chicken
 
Roll up the chicken and secure with a toothpick. Bake on 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes

 I used a homemade creamy butter garlic sauce on top of the chicken. Printable Recipe

BBQ Chicken Pizza

 Date night with the hubby!! Tonight was movie night with my husband! This week he picks the movie and I make  the dinner. I was trying to think of something that was "MAN" food! I really wanted tonight's dinner to be all about him with a little twist. Of course I would pick Pizza! Living in Buffalo, pizza is everything to everyone here.

I wanted something a little more exciting than the normal pepperoni pizza. But also something that would stretch my skills a little bit. While I was in the grocery store I came across a brand new BBQ sauce that was on the shelf, Guy Fieri's Kansas City BBQ sauce, I needed to try this sauce. Guy Fieri is one of our favorite hosts to watch on the Food Network. So then I had the perfect idea- BBQ Chicken Pizza- Totally a man dinner with a little woman twist! 

Printable Recipe 

Ingredients

Pizza Dough 

2 chicken breast- cubed

1/2 cup bbq sauce

handful of cilantro

1 tomato

1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese

1 cup cheddar jack cheese

dried basil

Directions

In a stove top pan cook your chicken. When cooked add bbq sauce and let simmer 10 minutes.

Using a rolling pin roll out your pizza dough on a floured surface to fit onto your pizza pan.

Coat the top of your dough with BBQ sauce

Add all your mozzarella cheese on top of the sauce

Add all your BBQ chicken on top of the cheese

Add your tomatoes on top of the cheese (I don't like tomatoes so I only put them on half. I used 1/2 of a tomato for this recipe)

Add all of your cheddar jack cheese on top of the tomatoes 

Sprinkle your handful of cilantro on top and sprinkle some basil on top. (my husband thought it was better off without the cilantro, however I liked it. So that can be your choice)

Put in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. 

Serve and enjoy! 

Pizza Dough

Ingredients
1 cup of warm water
1 envelope (1/4 ounce) of dry yeast
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
3 cups all purpose flour

Directions
In a large bowl, combine the water, yeast and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, stirring to combine. Let sit for about 5 minutes till is gets foamy.

Add 1 1/2 cups of the flour. Mix by hand until all the mixture is smooth. Continue to add the flour 1/4 cup at a time, working the dough everytime you add flour. I used about 2.5 cups total in the dough.

Kneed the dough on a flour surface for about 5 minutes.Roll dough into a large ball.

Add the reaming olive oil to a bowl, place your dough in the bowl. Make sure to coat all sides of the dough in the olive oil.

Place plastic wrap over the top of the bowl. Let sit for about an hour or until the dough doubles in size.

This is my dough with some BBQ sauce on top. I used it to make BBQ Chicken Pizza. 

Mini Lasagna Cups

When you are a family of 2 it's hard to make a big dish like lasagna without most of it going to waste. I was trying to come up with a smaller family-size way of making a big family meal. So to my muffin pan I went. 

Not only were these delicious, they were not messy like normal lasagna and they cooked extremely fast! 

 Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 cup marinara sauce

1 lb ground beef

24 wonton wrappers

1 cup mozzarella cheese

6 ounces parmesan cheese

4 ounces ricotta cheese

Italian seasoning (however much you like)

1 Garlic glove minced

1 bag of mini pepperoni

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray muffin pan with cooking spray.

Brown beef and drain excess grease.

In a small pan mix together your garlic, ricotta cheese and Italian seasoning.

Place a wonton wrapper into your muffin pan, push so wrapper is firmly on the bottom. You will have the corners sticking to the side.

Sprinkle a little parmesan cheese onto your wonton, add a teaspoon or ricotta cheese, top with a small pepperoni, and add some meat, top meat with marinara sauce, sprinkle with more parmesan cheese and top with mozzarella.  Add another wonton on top on the mozzarella and repeat this step.

After repeating you will have 2 layers, with your top layer being mozzarella cheese. I sprinkled ever last bit of my cheese on top.

Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Each lasagna should pop out easily. 

Garnish with left over sauce.