Lemon Pepper Chicken

This is one of those recipes that I can make when I haven't had time to go to the store. I usually have all of the ingredients at my house. It's so easy to throw it all together and put it in the oven.


Printable Recipe


Lemon Pepper Chicken
4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1-2 tsp lemon pepper seasoning
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup milk
1 cup cheese


Sprinkle chicken with lemon pepper and place in a baking dish. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Mix together cream of mushroom soup, mayonnaise, milk, and cheese. Pour over chicken. Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Serve with rice with the sauce on top.  

Dijon Pork Chops

Recipe from The Sisters Cafe


Printable Recipe


Dijon Pork Chops
4-6 (1/2 inch) pork chops
6-7 Tbsp flour
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp seasoning salt
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1/4 cup butter
2 Tbsp green onion, chopped
2 tsp dijon mustard
2/3 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup cold water
fresh chives for garnish


Combine 5 Tbsp flour, pepper, seasoning salt, and poultry seasoning. Melt butter in large skillet. Dredge pork chops in flour. Brown on both sides. Remove from skillet. Add green onion and cook for 1 minute. Stir together broth and mustard. Add to skillet and return pork chops. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 5-10 minutes. Remove pork chops to a warm platter. Combine water and 1 Tbsp flour. Add to skillet and stir until thickened. Pour sauce over pork chops. Top with chives. 

Salsa Verde Tostadas

Recipe from My Kitchen Cafe


Printable Recipe


Salsa Verde Tostadas
fajita size flour tortillas
1/2 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 1/2 cups cooked shredded chicken
1 cup green salsa plus more for serving
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp chopped cilantro
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 tsp cumin
chopped lettuce
chopped tomatoes
sour cream
avocado


Toss together chicken, salsa verde, 1/4 cup cilantro, black beans, and cumin. Marinate for a few hours. Arrange tortillas on a baking sheet. Sprinkle cheese evenly over tortillas. Bake at 400 for 8-10 minutes. Spoon mixture evenly over tortillas. Bake until heated through, about 8 minutes. Top with lettuce, tomatoes, cilantro, sour cream, avocado, and salsa.


Makes about 6-8 tostadas

Creamy Orzo with Chicken and Mushrooms

Recipe from My Kitchen Cafe


Printable Recipe


Creamy Orzo with Chicken and Mushrooms
1 to 1 1/2 lbs chicken, cut into chunks
2 bell peppers, chopped
8 oz fresh mushrooms, quartered
1 tsp. thyme
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb orzo pasta
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup reserved pasta water
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
3 Tbsp fresh parsley or 3 tsp dried parsley
squeeze of lemon juice (1/2 lemon)


Cook orzo according to package directions. Reserve 1 cup of water. Drain and set aside. Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add chicken to skillet. Season with salt and pepper. Cook chicken for about 5 minutes. Add peppers, mushrooms, and thyme. Cook for 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add cream cheese and pasta water. Bring to a simmer. Add 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Add orzo, parmesan, lemon, and parsley. Serve with additional parmesan cheese. 


Serves 6

Oatmeal Chocolate Caramel Bars

This recipe came from My Kitchen Cafe. I love caramel so I thought I would try them. They are a lot like my recipe for caramel brownies. Next time I might try making them with less chocolate but if you like a lot of chocolate they are really good like this. 

Printable Recipe


Oatmeal Chocolate Caramel Bars
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups oats
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup melted butter
11 oz. package caramel bits (in the chocolate chip section)
1/2 cup whipping cream or milk
12 oz. package milk chocolate chips


Combine flour, oats, brown sugar, salt, baking soda, and butter. Place half in the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes until lightly browned. Meanwhile, melt caramels with milk or cream over low heat. Remove bars from oven. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Pour melted caramel on top. Sprinkle the rest of the crust over the caramel. Bake for an additional 10-12 minutes.


Makes 24 bars

Breakfast Burritos

It's very rare for me to make breakfast. My husband is the breakfast cook in our house. I think it takes too long to make and I always have so many things to do in the mornings. I usually just feed my kids cereal. But when I do make breakfast this is one of my favorite things to make.  

Printable Recipe


Breakfast Burritos
1/2 lb ground sausage
1/2 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 green onion, sliced
1/4 cup green pepper, chopped
6 eggs
1/8 cup milk
flour tortillas
shredded cheese


Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add sausage. Cook for about 3-4 minutes. Add mushrooms, green onion, and green pepper. Cook until sausage is cooked through. Remove from pan. In a separate bowl, combine eggs and milk. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Beat well. Pour into skillet. Cook until eggs are almost cooked through, stirring frequently. Add sausage mixture. Cook until eggs are done. Place tortillas on a plate one at a time. Sprinkle with cheese. Microwave for about 30 seconds until cheese is melted. Place egg mixture on tortilla and roll up. 


Serves 6

Simple Sprite Cake

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the best cake decorator. I've tried to make creative, fun cakes for my kids' birthdays but they never turn out how I want them to and they take way too much time. So I just use a yummy recipe and decorate it with toys. We just celebrated my little girl Paige's 2nd birthday. She loves Tinkerbell so I wanted to make her a Tinkerbell cake. I found the recipe for the cake on Bakerella. It was a really easy recipe using a cake mix and some other ingredients. It was so moist. I loved it! The cake tasted great, it didn't take me too long to make, and now Paige's has some new Tinkerbell toys to play with.

Here is Paige with her Tinkerbell cake.

Printable Recipe


Simple Sprite Cake
1 white cake mix
1 box instant vanilla pudding mix (3.4 oz)
8 oz. sprite
4 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil


Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans. Combine all ingredients. Mix on low until combined. Increase speed to medium and mix for 2 minutes. Pour into cake pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick come out clean. 




Buttercream Frosting
1 cup (2 sticks) butter softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1 lb. powdered sugar
1-3 tsp. milk
food coloring


Cream butter and vanilla until smooth. Gradually add sugar. Mix until blended well. Add desired food coloring. To make frosting creamier, add milk 1 tsp. at a time. Beat on high. 


*This frosts two 9-inch pans. Next time I think I might make more because I would have liked a little more frosting.