Chicken Pot Pie Biscuit Casserole

Posted on September 9, 2015 by mommaalwaysknows

Y’all I am so ready for fall! Even the dinners I’m making SCREAM fall! Remember this goodie that I made in August (yes, I know that’s still summer). Here is another dinner that’s all creamy and full of comfort-food goodness and perfect as the leaves start to turn and the weather takes on a bit of chill.

I’ve been making this meal for a while. Part of me hates that I use the biscuits that you can buy in the pop can at the store (I really try and limit processed foods) but you can’t beat the convenience!

This meal comes together pretty quickly (especially since I use the crock pot to cook the chicken) and there is certainly enough for our family plus a lot of leftovers!

Ingredients:

Shredded Chicken Breast (I cook 1.5lbs in the crock pot in chicken stock, garlic and thyme and then shred)
2 16oz bags of frozen mixed vegetables
1 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup milk ( I use 1%)
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1 package of biscuits (I use Pillsbury Grands!)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

Heat the olive oil over medium high heat and add the frozen vegetables

Once they are warmed, add the thyme and a bit of salt

Sprinkle the flour over the veggies and stir to coat and cook about 1 minute.

Add the broth and milk and stir until thickened (usually about 5-6 minutes)

Remove from heat, stir in the chicken, taste for seasoning and then pour into a 9×13 prepared baking dish.

So usually I put the raw biscuits on top and cook for around 40 minutes BUT I didn’t give myself enough time the night I made this so I cooked the biscuits at the temperature on the package for 1/2 the time suggested on a baking sheet. Then I transferred them to the top of the chicken and veggie mix and baked for another 10 or 12 minutes at 375 (until golden).

This is a family favorite – I make it a few times per month throughout the year. The biscuits aren’t awesome left over but we don’t mind the at all!

Mini Spinach Frittatas for My Mini-Me

Posted on April 28, 2014 by mommaalwaysknows

A few months ago I posted a mini meatball recipe that I make and freeze for Lucas. These meatballs are great for a quick lunch or dinner, plus they’re a great way to sneak in some veggies!

As I was making Lucas scrambled eggs a few mornings ago I was wishing there was a simpler way to get breakfast ready for him. One that resulted in less dishes to wash would be awesome too! Then I remembered a Rachael Ray episode I saw a while ago where she used a mini muffin tin to make a bunch of different things (none of which were muffins). I also remembered seeing a bunch of pins on Pinterest that had to do with making egg muffins and freezing them. Since D hates eggs I never gave them much thought but now it seems like such a brilliant idea.

And so my Mini Frittata recipe was created!

Ingredients:

6 large eggs

4 TBSP milk

Handful of spinach, shredded

1/4 cup cheddar cheese

1/8 tsp garlic powder

Pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

Spray your mini muffin tin with cooking spray or butter

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk

Add in the spinach, cheese, garlic powder and salt and stir to combine

Add 1 TBSP of the mixture to each of the muffin cups

Bake for 13 minutes and then remove the eggs from the pan immediately to cool. They will deflate as they cool.

Arrange on a baking sheet and freeze for about 2 hours and then transfer to a freezer bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 weeks.

When it’s time to eat, just pop them in the microwave for about 30 seconds and they’re ready to go.

Honestly, I was kicking myself for not thinking of this sooner. Lucas LOVES them and he’s getting a veggie in with breakfast. Plus, they make the mornings that much easier! I think I’m on a mission to come up with even more freezer meals for Lucas – anything that saves me a few minutes in the kitchen adds a few minutes to playtime with the little guy!

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Grilled Curry Mustard Pork Chops

Posted on March 25, 2014 by mommaalwaysknows

We are big, BIG fans of the grill in our house. I’m probably a bigger fan than Darrin because he’s in charge of the grill – which means I get a break from cooking dinner. I hate January and February because it’s often a little too cold to grill out. Now that we’re finally in spring our grill will be getting it’s fair share of use.

We eat a lot of chicken in our house, but every now and then I like to change it up with steak, pork or fish. I have a go to recipe that I love for pork. We tend to grill the meat but it’s just as good baked in the oven at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes (depending on the size and thickness of the chops!).

Don’t let the ingredients fool you, it’s really not a super spicy dish – I’d give it a 1.5 or 2 out of 10 and I’m a little wimpy when it comes to heat!

Grilled Curry Mustard Pork Chops

1lb of boneless pork chops

1/3 cup spicy mustard

3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp garlic powder

1 1/2 TBSP curry powder

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

In a small bowl whisk together the mustard, vinegar, garlic powder and curry powder.

Stream in the olive oil, while continuing to whisk all of the ingredients together.

Transfer the marinade to a gallon sized freezer bag

Season your meat with a little salt and pepper and place in the freezer bag. Make sure you get all of the air out of the bag and seal it well.

Refrigerate for at least four hours but no longer than 8, since pork can break down if left in marinate for too long.

Take of of the refrigerator about 20 minutes before you’re ready to grill to take the chill off of the meat

Grill the pork chops over medium-high heat for about 12 minutes, or until they reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees.

My favorite Grill Master!

Allow to rest a minute or two before serving.

I tend to serve this with some sort of a potato and grilled brussel sprouts (we eat a LOT of grilled brussel sprouts!) but I also think it would be great with veggie fried rice!

What is your favorite things to grill? Any tips that I can pass along to the man behind the grill at my house?.

Meatball Sub Casserole – Easy and Delicious

Posted on March 19, 2014 by mommaalwaysknows

I’m sure I’ve mentioned it before but since I work on Tuesdays and Thursday outside of the home I try and make something on Mondays and Wednesdays that we can have leftovers of the next night. Pasta dishes are great for this, but you can only have so much pasta (yep, I said it – hard to believe I know!). I’ve started to make a lot of casserole type meals. Chicken and rice tends to get a little old after a while so I’ve started thinking of ways to turn non-casserole meals into casseroles.

L is REALLY into meatballs these days so I figured a meatball sub casserole would be GREAT! A quick Google search and I realized I wasn’t alone in that thought. I also realized that EVERY recipe called for a mayonnaise/Italian dressing packet combination. I saw a few that used cream cheese as well. I decided to try my own combination and it turned out so well!

I also used meatballs I had made earlier and frozen. You could certainly use store bought frozen meatballs though! Trader Joe’s has a frozen turkey meatball that I really like!

It’s a fairly simple list of ingredients (as you can see below!). I’ll even own up to the fact that I used jarred sauce. We didn’t have any of mine frozen and I really wasn’t in the mood to make a batch so I sucked it up and went with store bought!

Ingredients:

French or Italian bread, sliced and toasted

½ cup mayonnaise

4oz onion and chive cream cheese

½ tsp thyme

½ tsp basil

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp garlic powder

20 pre-cooked meatballs, if buying them frozen use 1 ½ 16oz bags (I did not defrost my meatballs)

2 cups Italian cheese(I usually buy Sargento’s 6 cheese blend), divided

3 cups of sauce, or one store bought jar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Arrange the toasted bread in the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish coated with cooking spray. You will probably need to cut up some of the slices to get the whole bottom covered.

In a separate bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, cream cheese and spices. Spread the mixture in an even layer over the toasted bread.

Top the spread with 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese

Combine your meatballs and sauce in another bowl. Pour the mixture over the bread, spread and cheese.

Top with the remaining cheese.

Cover with foil and bake for 15-20 minutes

Remove the foil and continue baking for another 10-15 minutes. Finally, finish it off but putting it under the broiler for a minute or two to make the cheese nice and brown!

I served the casserole with a delicious spaghetti squash (recipe here) and some roasted brussel sprouts. It was a HIT! Darrin couldn’t stop raving about this meal and Lucas ate more than his normal portion as well.

This is one meal that is entering our rotation for sure.

Do you have a favorite casserole? Share it in the comments below because I’m always looking for something new!

A Simple Spring Side Dish

Posted on March 10, 2014 by mommaalwaysknows

We love, alright adore!, pasta in this house. Pasta can be pretty heavy though and as the weather starts getting warmer, I like to cook lighter. I’ve experimented with Spaghetti Squash a few times before but this recipe came out so well I just had to share it.

Ingredients:

3-4lb spaghetti squash

2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

3 cloves of garlic, grated or minced

Italian herbs to taste

1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese

So first things first, you get this huge yellow squash at the store and quickly realize that it weights at least 3 to 4 pounds and would take an weed whacker to cut in half. Now what?!

Place the whole squash, as is, on a microwave safe plate and cook in the microwave for about 3 or 4 minutes, depending on how big your squash is.

Now you’ll have a much easier time cutting this delicious veggie in half with an ordinary kitchen knife. So go head and get the squash cut in half and placed, cut side down, on a cookie sheet covered with tinfoil and a bit of cooking spray.

Cook it in an oven preheated to 375 degrees for about 30-35 minutes, again depending on how big it is.

Once it’s cooked through take it out of the oven and let it cool! You’re going to have to hold it pretty good to scrape the good stuff out and as my finger tips can tell you, it’s HOT!

Once it’s able to be handled, scoop out the seeds and throw them out. Next, take your fork and scrape the flesh away from the skin, creating “noodles.”

Heat up 2 tbsp of butter and 1 tbsp of olive oil in a skillet over med-high heat. Grate in garlic, or mince it of you don’t have a hand grater, and cook for a few minutes until fragrant. I added a bit of dried herbs at this point (basil, oregano and thyme) to taste.

Add the spaghetti squash to the skillet and cook for a few minutes until coated in the garlic, butter and oil. I added about 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese right before I took the skillet off of the heat.

And there you have, a delicious and healthy summer side dish sure to please even those who don’t always like eating their vegetables!

We had this with Meatball Sub Casserole and roasted brussel sprouts and Darrin is already asking for it again!

MommaAlwaysKnows

Mom knows best…because she said so!

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