Mexi- Mac and Cheese

I made this wonder meal late at night, so don't mind the funky lighting! 

         I can pretty much assume this is a Rachel Ray recipe, and while the bitch can definitely cook some bomb food, she's just got way too much time on her hands.. I mean seriously this recipe calls for THREE pots and pans to be used, THREE, my dish washer will not be able to hold THREE large dishes, and there is no way in H- E- Double Hockey Sticks I plan on hand washing dishes on a Friday night... it just ain't happening.. so I changed up this recipe, to be just a TWO dish recipe (I think you could easily do it in just 1 pan, but I was not up for trying..)

Now I'm always excited to share a rock star recipe with the world, because, well I want everyone to know of all the good things in the world, but this recipe I feel extra excited about.  This recipe is like, woahhh... now I love me some mac and cheese (who doesn't?) but this, this is life changing, no way can you have "just Kraft" after having this... seriously...

I did not make this recipe with meat, because well I don't eat meat, however I think most people would think its even better with meat, and I wish I would have made it with chicken, because, that would have been delicious, or ground turkey, or basically anything! 

hot dogs anyone?? 

Mexi Mac and Cheese

1 lbs elbow macaroni 

1 lbs ground beef

1 package of Taco Seasoning (or a little chili powder)

1 Red bell pepper- chopped

4 green onions- chopped

4 oz Chopped Green Chiles (Whoops I think I forgot this!) 

2. T butter

2. T flour

1 cup milk

1 cup shredded cheese

a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil

salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, bring water to a boil, and cook noodles until al dente

While your noodles are cooking, brown your meat in a large pan, stir in Taco seasoning, Bell pepper, Green onions, and Green Chiles. sauté until veggies are tender.

In a THIRD pan (or just place that last pan of meat and veggies on a plate, and reuse it, that's what I did) melt your butter, stir in the flour, and stir constantly for about 1 minute. turn down to Low heat, and add milk and cheese, stir until cheese has melted into sauce.

After draining your noodles, return them to their large pot, mix in meat and veggies, and cover in cheese sauce.  stir until well mixed. 

I really don't see why you need to make the cheese sauce separately? you could probably get by with just tossing the cheese milk and butter onto the warm noodles and it would melt itself! 

Skinny Chicken Broccoli Casserole

Well we have made it another day of "cleaner eating" (I did have a Freezer Egg McMuffin this morning for breakfast- but what ever, clean enough- oh and they really do freeze and microwave amazingly! I'm even surprised!).  But its actually pretty hard to find recipes that aren't just like plain baked chicken and plain brown rice... which I just cannot do every single day... so we are off to try this new recipe! 

Skinny Chicken Broccoli Casserole

1 cup of brown rice

1 cup cold water

2 chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch chunks

4 cups of kale- finely chopped

4 cups broccoli- cut into small florets

1 cup milk 

2 T corn starch

1/2 T garlic salt

1 t Thyme, dried

1 t salt

1/2 t black pepper

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese- shredded

2/3 cup Colby jack cheese- shredded

In a large pot ( mine was not nearly large enough, so go big or go home) spray the bottom, add chicken and cook for about 5 minutes, or until it starts to get cooked.  add rice and water. reduce heat to low. 

cook for about 10 minutes. 

remove from heat and add broccoli and kale. 

in a small bowl whisk milk, corn starch, garlic salt, thyme, salt and pepper.

Add to pot along with  mozzarella cheese, and combine.  transfer into a baking dish and sprinkle with the Colby jack cheese.  cover with foil and bake at 375 for 25 minutes.

* this works great as a freezer meal as well* 

This is right before it went into the oven!

Nutritional Info

Servings Per Recipe: 8 (bull shit, Eric and I almost Ate the whole pan) 

Amount Per Serving = 1 + 2/3 cups:

Calories: 280.0

Total Fat: 5.0 g

Cholesterol: 47.5 mg

Sodium: 492.3 mg

Total Carbs: 31.8 g

Dietary Fiber: 4.0 g

Protein: 29.3 g

WW Points+: 7

Clean Eating Kabobs

As you may know, we are "attempting" to do clean eating... Eric is pretty much all in on this idea, and I'm just more wanting to do "cleanER eating" because, I'm a carb girl!  but this is pretty awesome.  I made most of them Vegetarian, with a couple with steak, I wanted to add chicken, but my lovely husband ate my chicken for lunch haha.

Clean Eating Kabobs

1 package of Mushrooms

2 cups baby tomatoes

1/2 green pepper

1/2 red pepper

1 onion

yellow squash

zucchini

feel free to add meat, make sure its partially or totally cooked before you kabob it!

feel free to use what ever you have around the house. use more or omit for what ever you want

Marinade

1/4 c. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 cloves of garlic- minced

1/2 t. dried oregano

1/2 t dried basil

salt and pepper to taste

Either Heat up the grill, or preheat the oven to 400.

Place veggies (and meat) onto the skewer. place onto a plate, or if you are going to cook it in the oven, place skewers onto a cookie sheet. 

 In a small bowl, mix all the marinade ingredients.  Rub the marinade over each kabob and let sit for at least 10-15 minutes (or feel free to make this ahead of time, and stick it in the fridge until dinner time) .  

Place in the oven for 15 minutes, or grill until tender!

ENJOY :) 

Freezer Egg McMuffin

Ill be the first to admit these don't look "pretty" but trust me they are yummy!

My husband and I have one of those reoccurring arguments (you know the kind, where no one is right, and no one is wrong, and it generally gets brought up after spending way too much time in a car together) over whether or not McDonalds breakfast is "worth it"... He says eggs aren't worth $5... I say, they are amazing and bring me to McDonalds (however I don't eat meat, so I haven't had lunch or dinner at McDonalds in YEARS)

We also constantly argue over him going out for breakfast EVERY MORNING... granted he spends like $2 and its not a big deal, however that adds up!! and it bothers me, because like he says, eggs are cheap! 

I was so excited when I stumbled upon this recipe... both arguments solved.  I get my McDonalds breakfast, he has no excuse to eat out before work! 

Toss these bad boys in the freezer, and quickly zap them in the microwave when you are ready to eat them! and my favorite part is that there is no "mystery ingredients" (other than the kraft cheese, which you could easily swap for some real cheese)

Freezer Egg McMuffins

6 English Muffins

6-9 eggs

1 T water per egg

6 slices of cheese

mix the eggs and water in a medium sized bowl. cook them as you please 

- I used a small fry pan and did them individually- however if you had one of those microwave egg cookers that would be awesome- or use a circle cookie cutter and fill the inside with egg and fry- or cook a large pan omelet style and just cut them into the size you need-

toast the English muffin. and assemble, the egg and cheese into the muffin.

You could easily add to this recipe too! onions and veggies in the eggs? add sausage, or bacon, or ham! 

To Freeze:  wrap in plastic wrap, and then tin foil and freeze

To Serve: place in a paper towel and microwave for 1-2 minutes! 

Oreo Brownies

I almost don't need a picture... this is obviously amazing... especially since two of my three pregnancy cravings are Oreos, and brownies.  It doesn't take a genius to decide they should be cooked together!  I made these really simple.  A bagged brownie mixture, and a few Oreos, and a very long contemplation of why in the world I had never thought to make this before!

Oreo Brownies

one bag of brownies (and what ever its ingredients are)

and a few Oreos (enjoy as many or as few as you would like)

spray the bottom of the pan with grease, place a layer of broken cookies along the bottom.  Fill with brownie mix, and cook according to brownie directions

Mine did take about 5-10 minutes longer than normal, but I'm not exactly sure why.  So keep an eye on them! 

Mouth Watering Parmesan Chicken

This chicken is life changing. No joke.  I almost died, and its unbelievably easy to make! (and very few dishes!).  I know I always rant and rave about all of my recipes.  But this hands down is the

BEST RECIPE YET!!!!

I don't want to keep you waiting any longer! so ill get right to the good stuff today!

Parmesan Chicken

1 c. mayo 

1/2 c grated Parmesan

1 t garlic salt

1 t. pepper

1 t. season salt (like Lawry's) 

4 chicken breasts

Preheat the oven to 350.

In a  small bowl (or regular sized bowl I suppose) mix mayo, cheese and seasonings.  

line a pan with tin foil and grease (because that makes life easier!).  place the chicken in the pan, and spread half of the mayo/cheese mixture on top of chicken.  cook for 30 minutes.  flip the chicken and spread the last half of the mixture on top.  cook another 20-30 minutes (or until golden brown). 

serve and ENJOY :) 

Colorado White Chicken Chili

I accidentally bought cream corn instead of regular corn! whoops

Colorado White Chili

1 medium onion- chopped

4 cloves garlic- minced

1- 4.5 oz diced green chiles

1 T. cumin

2 t. Oregano

1/2 t. Crushed red pepper

2- 15.5 oz great northern beans (do not drain)

1- 15.5 oz can sweet corn

2 cups of chicken- cubed

5 cups chicken broth

combine all ingredients into a large mixing bowl. place individual servings in Zip Lock bags and freeze.

To Serve: place in crock pot on low for 6-8 hours. 

Old Fashion Chicken Pot Pie

I did put another pie crust on top! but I wanted to show off the deliciousness inside! 

Old Fashioned Chicken Pot Pie

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped carrots

1/3 cup butter

1/2 cup flour- shifted

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup evaporated milk or half and half

2 cups cooked cubed chicken

1 cup frozen peas

1 t. salt

1/2 t. pepper

4 unbaked pie crusts

in a large pot, saute onions, celery, carrots and butter.  once lightly cooked, mix in flour, until smooth.  add the chicken broth, milk, chicken and peas. and cook until lightly boiling and thick.  let mixture cool *THATS IMPORTANT* fill into pie crusts!

cover with plastic wrap and then foil. and freeze

To Serve: Thaw in fridge, cook at 350 for 30 minutes with no foil on, and then add the foil on top for the last 30 minutes.

Taco Soup

Taco Soup

1 lb chicken( cubed or shredding) or ground turkey/beef- cooked

1 onion- chopped

1 package taco seasoning

1- 32 oz Diced Tomatoes

1- 15oz can corn

1-15 oz can kidney beans

1-15 oz can pinto beans

mix all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.  sort into individual zip lock bags and freeze.  

To Serve: put in crock pot on low for 6-8 hours.  Serve with sour cream, corn chips, or cheese on top!

Buffalo Chicken Salad Sandwich

This is an awesome meal, I made for freezer meals. but it totally works either way.  I was WAYY to hungry to do anything with the sandwich pictured, no toast, no toppings, nothing. and let me tell you. it was amazing!

Buffalo Chicken Salad Sandwiches

2 cups of chicken- cooked and shredded

1/2 block (4 oz) softened cream cheese

1/2 c ranch dressing

1/4 c. Franks hot sauce

1/4 c. onion

mix all ingredients together.  place in gallon sized zip lock containers if you are going to freeze it.  

To Serve From Frozen: defrost and serve on what ever bread you have lying around! 

To Serve: serve warm on any choice of bread, with any toppings you have!

Even More Freezer Meals

I did it again!! I made freezer meals, twice in one week!! I'm fairly certain I am starting to show sings that Labor is upon me... so I took this burst of energy I had today, and took advantage.  four different recipes, seven different dinners!

Again I spent roughly $40, perhaps today's was closer to $30, the most expensive part was the chicken, which I swear NEVER goes on sale at the commissary!

I will set up today's post, similar to the other days post, where all four recipes will be on this page, as well as each individual recipe will get its own page! sorry if that's a bit redundant, but I figure it is easier that way!

I was too hungry to add any toppings, or to even toast the bread- but it didn't matter, these are to die for!

Buffalo Chicken Salad Sandwiches

2 cups of chicken- cooked and shredded

1/2 block (4 oz) softened cream cheese

1/2 c ranch dressing

1/4 c. Franks hot sauce

1/4 c. onion

mix all ingredients together.  place in gallon sized zip lock containers.  

To Serve: defrost and serve on what ever bread you have lying around! 

I got hungry mid cooking, and put this sandwich together, nothing fancy, not even toasted, but it was DELICIOUS! 

Taco Soup

1 lb chicken( cubed or shredding) or ground turkey/beef- cooked

1 onion- chopped

1 package taco seasoning

1- 32 oz Diced Tomatoes

1- 15oz can corn

1-15 oz can kidney beans

1-15 oz can pinto beans

mix all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.  sort into individual zip lock bags and freeze.  

To Serve: put in crock pot on low for 6-8 hours.  Serve with sour cream, corn chips, or cheese on top!

I did add a top pie crust to this, and cleaned up the edges, but you couldn't see how good it looks with a top on it!

Old Fashioned Chicken Pot Pie

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped carrots

1/3 cup butter

1/2 cup flour- shifted

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup evaporated milk or half and half

2 cups cooked cubed chicken

1 cup frozen peas

1 t. salt

1/2 t. pepper

4 unbaked pie crusts

in a large pot, saute onions, celery, carrots and butter.  once lightly cooked, mix in flour, until smooth.  add the chicken broth, milk, chicken and peas. and cook until lightly boiling and thick.  let mixture cool *THATS IMPORTANT* fill into pie crusts!

cover with plastic wrap and then foil. and freeze

To Serve: Thaw in fridge, cook at 350 for 30 minutes with no foil on, and then add the foil on top for the last 30 minutes.

would be awesome to add some rice to this chili too!!

Colorado White Chili

1 medium onion- chopped

4 cloves garlic- minced

1- 4.5 oz diced green chiles

1 T. cumin

2 t. Oregano

1/2 t. Crushed red pepper

2- 15.5 oz great northern beans (do not drain)

1- 15.5 oz can sweet corn

2 cups of chicken- cubed

5 cups chicken broth

combine all ingredients into a large mixing bowl. place individual servings in Zip Lock bags and freeze.

To Serve: place in crock pot on low for 6-8 hours. 

Mississippi Come Back Sauce

I have only been to Mississippi once, post Katrina, and I never ever had this sauce there, but maybe if I had, I would be back there right now! super delicious sauce!!

I do have to mention I didn't use "measurements" so much as I "eyeballed" it.  And I may have used too much chile sauce (Sriracha) and I'm massively pregnant, and my heart burn was SOO mad at me. so be careful, don't make yours look this red please! lol

Mississippi Come Back Sauce

1 c. mayo

1/4 c. Chili sauce

1/2 t garlic salt

1/2 t Worcestershire sauce

1/2 t pepper

mix all ingredients together, store in an air tight container in the fridge

I hear this is great on EVERYTHING, likes salads and sandwiches and anything else you "dip" I used it with my Baked Chicken Tenders and it was AMAZING :) 

Baked Chicken Tenders

 I don't know about you, but there is nothing I like quite like some chicken nugs or tenders, but, after taking a bite or two, I can't help but think I'm eating mostly just ground up beak and feet (sorry gross picture I know). So I have been dying to make my own tenders, ones i know come from the "good parts" of a chicken!

This would also be and AMAZING freezer meal! Just cook a huge batch, and then freeze them, and when ready toss them back in the oven to warm them up!! (I'm totally doing that soon!)

Baked Chicken Tenders

2 chicken breasts

2 eggs

1-2 cups of flour

1 roll of ritz crackers

salt and pepper

1/2 t paprika 

1/2 t Cayenne pepper

1/2 t minced garlic

Preheat the oven to 450.  spray with pam on a cooling rack, or pizza pan (something that allows the chicken to cook on both sides at the same time works best) 

Take out three separate containers ( two paper plates and a bowl is what I used, but anything along those lines work).  in the bowl mix the eggs and garlic.  on one plate add the flour, salt and pepper. and on the last plate smash up the ritz cracks and season with paprika and Cayenne pepper.  

first dip it in the flour

then into the egg, and lastly into the ritz 

Cut your chicken into chunks, depending on the size you want.  take each individual piece of chicken and dip it first in the flour mixture, then the egg, and lastly in the ritz.  make sure each step is completely covering the chicken, and allow the excess to fall off.  

bake for 15-20 minutes. or until perfectly cooked and golden!

before they went into the oven.  I should have used a cookie cooling rack, but I couldn't find mine. so I used a pizza sheet. which helps the chicken cool on both sides and none of the breading fell off! 

ENJOY :) 

The sauce pictured in the top picture is Mississippi Come Back Sauce totally recommend it! it took like two minutes to make! And its amazing, and I hear it can go on ANYTHING, even salads!!! 

Clean Eating Minestrone

Clean Eating Minestrone 

  1 large red onion

4 cloves of garlic

1 small bunch of chives

1 med bunch of basil

3 bay leaves

1- 15 oz cans tomato sauce

1-28 oz can stewed tomatoes

2- 32 oz veggie broth

6 large carrots

1 lbs Zucchini 

1 small egg plant

2- 15oz can of Kidney beans

1 lbs frozen peas

1 lbs Frozen corn

1 container of mushrooms

5 large celery stocks

chop all the veggies.  In the largest bowl you can find (seriously, like a storage bin might be needed, it makes a TON)  dump all of your ingredients together.  and put into individual serving size bags (I was able to make 5 large servings). and freeze.

when ready to serve, cook on low for 6-8 hours in the crock pot. 

feel free to add rice, or chicken, or noodles, or what ever else you please, but add more broth! I added rice to one serving, and it ended up being more of a hot dish, than a soup! haha

Clean Eating Chicken Stew

Clean Eating Slow Cooker Chicken Stew

1.5 lbs boneless chicken

1 medium onion- wedged

2 cups baby carrots

1 T. Lawry's seasoned salt

2t. Parsley Flakes

1/2t. Ground Pepper

1.5 Lbs Red Skinned potatoes

ADD LATER

3 T. corn Starch

1/2 cup of milk

this one takes a little extra work, in order to freeze potatoes you should blanch them first (bring water to a roaring boil, dump them in for 3-5 minutes, and then dunk them in ice water for about 10 minutes) 

** if you decide not to freeze this meal, or if you just want to add the potatoes later, ignore that last step! 

after your potatoes are blanched combine all ingredients in a large bowl (you will wonder where the "stew" part is, because its a dry mixture. but that comes when you add the milk and corn starch later (I hope!).  I was able to make Three servings out of this recipe.  which means when it comes time to cook I will add 3 T of milk, and 1 T of corn starch.  you will have to do the math to decide how to split your corn starch and milk to your serving sizes! 

cook on low for 6-8 hours

Meixcan Chicken Chili

Mexican Chicken Chili

3 cups shredded or chopped chicken

2 cans black beans

1 can pinto beans

2-4 Chopped zucchini 

5 cups chicken broth

2 cups chunky salsa

1 8oz can of tomato sauce

dump all the ingredients into a large bowl and mix.  separate into individual servings, in a zip lock bag (I was able to make three meals, for me and my husband, but we are both big eaters, so you will just have to figure out what works best for you!) and freeze

when ready to eat, toss it into the crock pot for 7-8 hours on low.

11 Clean Meals for $40

  With baby on the way (and I totally think he's coming SOON, even though my due date isn't for a month, he feels ready, and I have always thought my due date was off!) I decided its time to stock the freezer with easy peasy freezer meals! I'm doing this post in two different ways. one with ALL of the recipes, so you can copy my grocery list and take it, and then I am also going to post each recipe separate, because, some people may not like specific things!

To make the 3 recipes, it cost me roughly $40 (I had some things on hand at home, like some frozen veggies, and I bought a couple things, like ice cream, while shopping. plus depending on brand/store/coupons/sales/season prices change. so expect to pay around $40 for these!

All of these recipes were found under "clean eating" and while I don't know a ton about "clean eating" I was under the impression that "clean eating" meant the



re was no canned anything, which these recipes do have, however, they do not have any processed foods! So bare minimum they are much CLEANER!

so lets begin! 

Mexican Chicken Chili

3 cups shredded or chopped chicken

2 cans black beans

1 can pinto beans

2-4 Chopped zucchini 

5 cups chicken broth

2 cups chunky salsa

1 8oz can of tomato sauce

dump all the ingredients into a large bowl and mix.  separate into individual servings, in a zip lock bag (I was able to make three meals, for me and my husband, but we are both big eaters, so you will just have to figure out what works best for you!) and freeze

when ready to eat, toss it into the crock pot for 7-8 hours on low.

Rustic Slow Cooker Chicken Stew

1.5 lbs boneless chicken

1 medium onion- wedged

2 cups baby carrots

1 T. Lawry's seasoned salt

2t. Parsley Flakes

1/2t. Ground Pepper

1.5 Lbs Red Skinned potatoes

ADD LATER

3 T. corn Starch

1/2 cup of milk

this one takes a little extra work, in order to freeze potatoes you should blanch them first (bring water to a roaring boil, dump them in for 3-5 minutes, and then dunk them in ice water for about 10 minutes) 

after your potatoes are blanched combine all ingredients in a large bowl (you will wonder where the "stew" part is, because its a dry mixture. but that comes when you add the milk and corn starch later (I hope!).  I was able to make Three servings out of this recipe.  which means when it comes time to cook I will add 3 T of milk, and 1 T of corn starch.  you will have to do the math to decide how to split your corn starch and milk to your serving sizes! 

cook on low for 6-8 hours

Clean Eating Minestrone 

  1 large red onion

4 cloves of garlic

1 small bunch of chives

1 med bunch of basil

3 bay leaves

1- 15 oz cans tomato sauce

1-28 oz can stewed tomatoes

2- 32 oz veggie broth

6 large carrots

1 lbs Zucchini 

1 small egg plant

2- 15oz can of Kidney beans

1 lbs frozen peas

1 lbs Frozen corn

1 container of mushrooms

5 large celery stocks

chop all the veggies.  In the largest bowl you can find (seriously, like a storage bin might be needed, it makes a TON)  dump all of your ingredients together.  and put into individual serving size bags (I was able to make 5 large servings). and freeze.

when ready to serve, cook on low for 6-8 hours in the crock pot. 

feel free to add rice, or chicken, or noodles, or what ever else you please, but add more broth! I added rice to one serving, and it ended up being more of a hot dish, than a soup! haha

Chicken Vegetable stir fry with sauce

Chicken Vegetable Stir Fry, with sauce

2 chicken breast - cut into strips

2 cups of broccoli 

1/2 red onion chopped

1 cup carrots

1 cup green beans

1 cup mushrooms

1/2 C green and yellow peppers

 (feel free to use what ever veggies you have lying around, I just cleared the fridge) 

2 cups of rice (brown or white) 

2 tablespoons olive oil

Soy Sauce Sauce

1/4 c soy sauce

1/4c rice vinegar (I hate the stuff, so I skipped this step)

1 tablespoon brown rice

3 tsb corn starch

In a fry pan, heat oil, toss in chicken, when about halfway cooked, add in the rest of the veggies.  

In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients for the sauce, stir until smooth.  when finished, toss sauce in with veggies and chicken (sauce will thicken as it heats up).

serve over rice and ENJOY :)

all the veggies i could find in the fridge, most were about to go bad! great way to clear them out quickly!