The Mothership

  You can prepare this fan favorite in under an hour by baking the chicken or you can cook it all day in the crockpot. The recipe below is if you bake the chicken and I will add a note at the bottom of what to do for the crockpot. Super easy midweek meal that can be versatile for leftovers. Ingredients: 3-5 lbs. chicken breast  Olive oil Salt & pepper 1 bottle of buffalo sauce 1 packet Ranch dip mix (in a spice envelope) 1 block of cream cheese 4 cups shredded cheddar cheese Romaine lettuce heads or leafy lettuce to hold the chicken mixture Sliced onions - if desired Recipe: Turn oven to bake at 400. Then place breast on a cookie sheet lined with foil. Then drizzle some olive oil on top of the chicken and then salt & pepper.  Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.  Take chicken out and shred it. I put my in a mixing bowl and let the mixer do the work.  In a 13x9 pan - I lined mine with foil for easy cleanup - put half the brick of cream cheese sliced into tabs...

This dish is so easy. It took a total of less than 1 hour to put together, bake, and cool off so you can eat it. If you use regular pasta - I would bake it for an extra 5 minutes. My mom passed this recipe on to me and I doctored it a bit.  Ingredients: 1 - 16oz box of pasta (I used Chickpea pasta) 3 cups of water 5 oz. Spinach 16 oz. Of frozen meatballs (I used meatless) Sprinkle of salt 1 - 24 oz jar of pasta sauce 1/4 red onion, chopped Parmesan cheese or cheddar cheese or both - a couple handfuls. 2 cups of mozzarella  Fresh Basil or parsley for the top of the dish Recipe : Turn oven to 450.  Spray a 13x9 dish.  Place noodles, water, spinach, meatballs, salt, pasta sauce, spinach and just a handful or two of Parmesan or cheddar cheese into the dish. Give it a good toss to make sure everything is incorporated.  Cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Be sure to give a good stir about every 10 minutes.  Take out and sprinkle on the two cups of mozz...

  I love it when recipes take me less than an hour from start, combining or chopping, to finish - my plate. This recipe was a crowd pleaser AND it was easy cleanup AND tasty. In this recipe I made the chicken the night before in a crockpot, so that is how I am writing the recipe. You could always bake the chicken ahead and shred ahead or pan fry and make right before you combine everything. I just wanted to make things easy for me - hence the crockpot. Ingredients: For the Chicken 4 chicken breasts 1 cup broth 1 cup water 1 tbsp. oil salt & pepper sprinkles of spices like cumin, garlic, onion, paprika  For the Quesadilla 4 cups chicken breasts (you might have a little extra leftover) 2 tbsp. olive oil 2 tbsp. lime juice  2 tsp. chili powder 2 tsp cumin  1 tsp smoked paprika 1 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp onion powder 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp black pepper 1/2 of a red bell pepper, diced 1/2 of a yellow onion, diced 4 cups Mexican cheese blend  1 cup shredded mozarella 1...

  We eat a lot of chicken. So pairing it with other things makes me feel versatile. Make it in a crockpot and I’m all in! Ingredients: 5-6 chicken breasts, skinless Salt & pepper Cooking oil - I used avocado oil 1.5 cups broth (chicken or vegetable) 3 Tbsp. Cornstarch  1 cup heavy cream or milk  2 tbsp garlic powder 2 tsp oregano 1tsp dried thyme Red pepper flakes - optional 1/2 jar of sun dried tomatoes, chopped 2 Tbsp. Butter More salt & pepper Favorite pasta Spinach Basil or parsley Grated Parmesan cheese Recipe: Drizzle a tiny bit of coooking oil on the bottom of the slow cooker. Then, place the chicken breast in the bottom of the slow cooker. Drizzle a tad more oil on top. Then sprinkle generously with salt and pepper over the chicken. In a bowl whisk together the cornstarch and chicken broth with a whisk. Add in all the seasonings and Parmesan. If you use red pepper flakes, just be careful as it can be spicy. Pour the mixture over the chicken. Then place the...

My 90’s kids know what hamburger helper is. This is a version of it minus pasta that makes me feel a bit better about the food going in my body. And it MOSTLY has all pantry ingredients give or take one. This also takes 30 minutes.    This makes enough for my family of five and leftovers for tomorrow.  Ingredients: 2 tsp. Olive oil or saute oil 2 lbs. ground beef 1/2 onion, chopped 1 green pepper, chopped More olive oil 2 lbs. small gold potatoes (they come in a 1 lb bag at the grocer) Salt & pepper 3 tsp. Garlic powder 3 tsp. Onion powder 2 tsp. Smoked paprika 1/2 cup of water 2 Tbsp. Yellow Mustard 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce 1/4 cup of ketchup - or more if you’d like 1.5 cups of sharp cheddar cheese Green onions, sliced Recipe: In a large saute pan heat the oil on medium. Add in your onion, green pepper and saute for a minute.  Add the ground beef and separate all the beef as it cooks into small pieces. Cook for about 8 minutes total. Then take out of the pan...

The cold weather has kicked in and I really was craving some wonton soup. I like my soups to have a of stuff, not just broth. I am a big fan of utilizing Whole Foods ingredients and halfway with prepared foods. Hence the frozen wontons because I don’t have time to make the pork put in a wonton and then cook the wontons. Also, cost effective is essential with the way these teenagers eat up in here. I feel like canned soup has gotten more expensive, higher in sodium, low in quality and quantity. And buying at a restaurant for the whole family would not be cost effective. I will double this next time for the size of their stomachs. Also - you can make this VEGETARIAN if you purchase veggie dumplings/wontons and use bacon bits that are actually soy. This took me 30 minutes from gathering items, to chopping, to my belly.     Ingredients: 2Tbsp. Sesame oil 2 cloves of garlic, minced 2-3 tsp. Of grated ginger (don’t skimp on this it makes the recipe) 6  cups chicken broth or veg...

This recipe feeds the five of us and gives enough for maybe two servings of leftovers. Before you begin, PRESS THE TOFU for at least a few hours. To press tofu: Take tofu out of packing and drain the liquid.  Place paper towels around the tofu (I usually two-ply it).  Then place wrapped tofu on a plate or in a bowl and place a cutting board and something else heavy on top to apply pressure. You are trying to extract all the water. The more extracted the crispier. You might repeat that process one more time. Sometime I press it in the fridge overnight and change it again in the morning. Then it’s ready for baking in the afternoon. Ingredients : 2 - 14oz blocks of extra-firm tofu Olive oil 2 Tbspns Cornstarch 2 tsp. salt 1 tsp. Garlic powder 1/2 tsp black pepper Recipe :  Heat oven to 400 Slice pressed tofu in two or three even slabs. Pat dry. Slice tofu into desire rectangles or cubes for eating. The smaller the cube the crispier but it takes more time to turn them. So I u...

This might seem like a lot of work but it really wasn’t. It’s mostly just dumping.  To make even easier:  You could make the chicken the night before and add all the ingredients to the pan just before baking.  You could make the whole dish the night before including baking it and the leftovers are delicious! You could purchase the tzatziki sauce I truly didn’t measure the spices, I just sprinkled everything on top and then let it sit.  **I’m always looking to make things more colorful so next time I will be adding chopped red and orange peppers and topping with fresh tomatoes.  Tzatziki sauce: 1 cup plain Greek yogurt Juice from one lemon 1/2 of a peeled, Grated cucumber Salt 1 clove garlic, minced 1tsp chopped fresh dill Black pepper   Casserole: 1-2 lbs. chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces Drizzle of olive oil Juice from 1 lemon   2Tbsp chopped fresh parsley   1 tsp, oregano, thyme, smoked paprika Sprinkle of salt SprinkleCumin Sp...

This is one of those wonderful one pot easy prep meals. No chopping! I made a less lactose version because someone in our family has a sensitivity. Use full lactose items if you feel so inclined Ingredients: 2 lbs. uncooked chicken 1 - 16 oz. chicken or vegetable broth 1 - 28 oz. can green enchilada sauce  Salt & Pepper to taste 1 - 14oz. can of corn, drained 1 - 14 oz. can of white beans   2 cups shredded Monterey jack cheese or white cheddar cheese 1/4 cup whole milk (or regular) 3/4 cup almond milk (Or use all whole milk) 1 cup of soy yogurt (or greek yogurt or sour cream) 2 oz. cream cheese or cream cheese alternative (cubed and softened) chopped red onion chopped cilantro  lime wedges  tortilla chips green verde salsa for topping (optional) ***You could top with chopped avocado and more cheese.  ***We have also prepared rice per package directions and poured soup over top of rice when serving.  *** adding red pepper flakes is fun - but can bri...

These are not your average nachos. I love trying new dishes and wanted something easy that transferred well to a crowd. It stayed fairly well hot and still tasted great even after it cooled down. Chopping was also a minimum. Add more mayo if you want the spread to go further. You of course add or subtract whatever! Don't forget the forks so you can grab the bits that fall between the cracks. Ingredients 1 bag of tortilla chips (I used white corn chips) 2 & 1/2 cups of shredded Monterrey Jack cheese saute oil 1 large bag of frozen corn (about 3 cups) or 3 fresh ears of corn cut off the cob.   salt pepper 2 garlic cloves minced paprika 1 jalapeno, diced with seeds removed (or 1 tsp from a jar of diced jalapeño) 3 or 4 limes 1/3 cup sour cream 1/4 cup. mayonnaise crumbled Cotija Cheese (mine came in a 2 cup bag) 2 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro Recipe: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large skillet heat saute oil over high heat. Add corn to the skillet and stir. Season with s...