One Pan Cheesy Chili Mac

Want a easy quick dinner that only dirties one pan? Try this delicious recipe that comes together in no time! I made this last night, and it was a hit! Plenty of leftovers for lunch or another fast dinner!

One Pan Cheesy Chili Mac

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon Chili Powder
1 Tablespoon Cumin
2 Tablespoons Onion powder
2 Tablespoons Garlic Powder
1 Tablespoon Chili Flakes
1 Pound Ground Beef
2 Cups Water
1 large can of Diced Tomatoes
1 box Elbow Macaroni
1/2 Cup Heavy Cream or Half and Half
1-8 Ounce Package Shredded Mexican Cheese Blend
Salt and Black Pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

In a 12 inch nonstick skillet add the ground beef and seasonings and brown lightly on medium , breaking it apart with a wooden spoon as it cooks, about 10 minutes.

Add tomatoes and water to the skillet and stir to mix. Add in the pasta and cover, increasing the heat to medium high. Cook the mixture, stirring often and adjusting the heat to maintain a vigorous simmer. Continue to cook until the pasta is tender, about 9-12 minutes.

Take the skillet off the heat and add the heavy cream and 1 cup of the cheese mixture. Taste to make sure it is seasoned properly/to your liking. You could always more chili flakes. Top the mixture with remaining cheese and pop in to the oven under broil until the cheese melts and turns bubbly brown.

Crispy Chicken Thighs and Pan Roasted Potatoes

Hello, friends! Last Monday of the school year for us, so we are all ready for this week to end…then on to SUMMER BREAK! I guess you guys can tell I’m just a little bit excited about that one. So last night I made this delicious one pan dish (plus a couple of sides). Crispy chicken and perfectly cooked buttery potatoes? Yes, please! It was a big hit and I have just enough left for a leftover meal this week!

Crispy Chicken Thighs and Pan Roasted Potatoes

Ingredients

4-6 chicken thighs or breasts (bone in and skin on)
1 small bag, about 20 small whole yellow potatoes
1/2 stick of butter =)
liberal amounts of salt and pepper to your taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Melt a tablespoon of butter in a cast iron pan. Season each side of the chicken with salt and pepper.

Place the chicken skin side down and cook until it is crispy, about 10 minutes depending on the size of your chicken. Flip to other side and cook for 5 minutes. Remove chicken and add the rest of the butter to the pan. Then add the potatoes.

Situate the chicken on top of the potatoes. The potatoes should be like a bed for your chicken. Place in the oven and cook for about 45-60 minutes or until potatoes are tender and chicken thighs are cooked to 165.

Serve with another veggie and in possibly macaroni and cheese. This is a Sunday dinner, so why not!

Easy Weeknight Chicken Pot Pie

Hey friends! I hope you are having a great evening! My family LOVES pot pies (who doesn’t?), so I am always finding creative and easy ways to make them. You can make this easy version during the week using a variety of store bought shortcuts. I thought there would be some leftovers, but the family gobbled it all up!

Ingredients

Two 10 1/2-ounce cans of reduced sodium cream of chicken soup
4 small potatoes diced
One bag frozen vegetables (carrot, corn and green bean mix)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 rotisserie chicken, meat shredded, skin and bones discarded
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 can biscuit dough

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium to large dutch oven, add a bit of oil to your pan. Over med.high heat, cook your potatoes until just fork tender, about 8 minutes.

Add together the cream of chicken soup, frozen vegetables, shredded chicken, and your seasonings in the dutch oven. I also added a couple tablespoons of water. I cooked until everything was warmed through, about 15 minutes or so.

Cover the pot pie filling with your biscuits.

Bake until the biscuits are golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.

Recipe Review- Chicken Fricasse

So I made another recipe from the beautiful book, The Chef Next Door, by Amanda Freitag. She has a whole section on low and slow recipes, which I love. This recipe was shown 2 ways- on the stove top and slow cooker! You know I love a good crock pot meal on a busy night! I assembled everything in the morning before I took the girls to school. I served it on top of rice, but pasta would work, too. So good! The girls even ate the green olives and capers! Working on a stuffed mushroom dish up later tonight or tomorrow!

Chicken Fricassee

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup tomato sauce or stewed tomatoes
1 yellow, orange, and red pepper- julienned
1 Spanish onion
6 garlic cloves, diced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
8 ounces of beer or white wine (I used wine)
1 1/2 cups Chicken Stock
20 green olives, pitted
5 small Yukon gold potatoes, quartered
4 bone-in, skin on chicken legs (I used thighs, but breasts would work)
1/4 cup drained capers
2 limes, cut in to wedges (I did not use lime)

Slow Cooker-

Combine everything in the crock pot. In the directions, she cooks it on high until it boils, then turns it down. Since I was working all day, I just put it on low until I got home. The meat was falling off the bone. If you are adding capers and lime, add them right at the end 002

Cauliflower Couscous

So I made this yummy veggie one pot wonder yesterday. Eat a plate of it for dinner, or pair it with a piece of grilled fish or chicken. Delicious! So cauliflower and couscous are not the most photogenic foods, but I tried my best with the picture. The recipe was so easy!

All you have to do is chop up some cauliflower in small pieces. You could put it in in the food processor to mimic couscous, but I like a few bigger pieces to bite in to. Then put a couple of tablespoons of both butter and olive oil in a med-large dutch oven. Add in your cauliflower and cook down until tender, about 8 minutes. Add in your liquid and bring to a boil. I had some leftover chicken stock, but use veggie or water if you like to make this vegetarian. Just follow the proper ratios on the couscous box. I used plain, so no flavor packet was used. Add in the couscous and stir. Take off the heat and cover for 5 minutes. At the end (OPTIONAL) add in a couple turns of heavy cream and stir OR if you don’t have cream, you could add in a bit more butter or olive oil.

***To make vegan, leave out the butter and just use olive oil. Leave out the heavy cream.

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Soft Eggs with Mushrooms, Potatoes, Bacon, Feta, and Tarragon

Happy Thursday! This week has been LONG, so I am very happy that tomorrow is FRIDAY!!!!

Becca had cheer practice and a party tonight, so Katie and I hung out and did lots of reading and math. Then I cooked up this fast dinner with random leftovers and odds and ends from the fridge.I was going to make a frittata, but Katie said she wanted runny eggs, which either means my runny scrambled eggs (totally cooked, just low and slow with butter and a splash of cream) or my sunny side up eggs.

I told her I would make cheesy runny eggs with bacon, mushrooms, and potatoes. She said, “You can do that?” Yes, I can! I even let her help scramble the eggs and tear some tarragon =) We both gobbled it up and earned a spot in the clean plate club! I hope this inspires you to get in your kitchen and have a little fun!

Soft Eggs with Mushrooms, Potatoes, Bacon, Feta, and Tarragon with Garlic Toast

Ingredients

4 slices bacon, cooked and chopped
6 eggs, scrambled
1 small container mushrooms, sliced
2 red potatoes, chopped in small even pieces
about 1/2 a container of feta cheese
one handful of tarragon, finely chopped or kid shredded =)
3 tablespoons butter
salt and pepper to taste
4 pieces toast (left over garlic bread for us)

Directions

Cook your bacon in a hot pan. Take out and chop once cooled.
Turn down the pan to a medium heat. Cook your potatoes and mushrooms in the bacon grease and one tablespoon of olive oil, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Turn down heat to low. Add in your scrambled eggs, bacon, butter, tarragon, and feta. Stir frequently for about 10 minutes until it just all comes together. Eggs will look loose but they are fully cooked.

Enjoy with some buttered toast. If you happen to have some leftover garlic bread, like me, that would be even better!

Sesame Thai Ginger Chicken Stir Fry

Evening guys! So tonight I was planning on making Montery Chicken https://funfoodiefamily.com/2014/06/09/copy-cat-montery-chicken/, but I realized I didn’t have any cheddar cheese. Then I saw this in the pantry and had a new idea for dinner…
In the time it takes you to cook the rice, your chicken and veggie stir fry will be done! Perfect timing! This would be great with beef, shrimp, or tofu!

Sesame Thai Ginger Chicken Stir Fry

Ingredients

2 tablespoons peanut oil (sub whatever oil you have)
3 chicken breasts cut in to bite sized pieces
1/2 container of Thai Ginger chicken stock
1 tablespoon ginger paste (Asian markets), or minced ginger
2 tablespoons Hoisin
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1-2 cups stir fry veggies- I used a combo of broccoli, snow peas, carrots, and shallots, but any veggie you have on hand would be great (mushrooms, peppers, baby corn, etc)
1 cup of rice

Directions

Cook rice to package. I used half water and half of the Thai Ginger Chicken Stock.
Combine all the veggies and chicken in a wok with a couple tablespoons of peanut oil. Add a splash of your stock, hoisin, and sesame oil. Cook on medium high heat until chicken is cooked through.