Recipe: Cheesy Chicken Rice Bake

This dish is DELICIOUS! I love finding new simple recipes to grace our kitchen. I don't get near enough variety when I'm at home and we don't always want to eat out to enjoy a nice meal. Thank goodness Pinterest exists where I can find amazing recipes.

This weeks comes from TastyKitchen.com. Cheesy Chicken Rice Bake with black beans and corn... doesn't it look amazing?

Things you'll need:

• 2 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
• 4 cups Cooked Brown Rice
• ¾ cups Frozen Corn
• 15 ounces, fluid Can Black Beans, Drained And Rinsed
• 1 cup Plain Greek Yogurt (or Sour Cream)
• 4 ounces, fluid Can Green Chilis
• ½ cups Salsa
• 1 cup Low-fat Cheddar Cheese, Plus More For Topping
• 2 Tablespoons Fresh Cilantro For Garnish

Directions:


Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except for cilantro and mix thoroughly to combine. Make sure the yogurt and cheese are stirred in throughout the entire bowl. Season with salt and pepper if desired. Transfer to an oven-safe dish and top with extra cheese if you would like. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until heated through. Garnish with chopped cilantro.
To make this process easier, I always have cooked chicken on hand, and use Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice. If you have those two things, this can be throw together in a matter of minutes! It can also easily be made ahead of time and reheated.

Recipe: Zephyr Lemonade

I love an amazing cocktail and if you're not looking to go all out with a holiday Vodka Slush but want something simple and refreshing to enjoy, I've found the perfect drink! It's quick, easy, and goes with everything!

Things you'll need:

Vodka
Sprite
Sweet & Sour
Lemon
Ice

Directions:

Mix as you like!!! That's right, I will NOT give you an directions on concocting this delicious drink. It is to be devoured as you like. Every person likes theirs a little differently but trust me... it's all amazing!

Recipe: Skillet Chicken Pasta

Pinterest is my new best friend! If you're on there please follow me! I'll follow back so we can share some amazing recipes, decorating tips, and more! This week I bring you a very delicious Skillet Chicken Pasta!!!

Mels Kitchen Cafe has amazing recipes that are easy to follow and substitutions are allowed!

The ingredients:

*serves 4-6

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch squares
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
4 medium cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
12 ounces ziti or penne pasta
3 cups water
2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
4-5 cups broccoli florets
1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, rinsed, drained and chopped coarse
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon cornstarch
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

The directions:

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until it is rippling and very hot. Add the chicken pieces to the skillet and cook for 3-4 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Transfer the chicken to a clean plate and set aside.

Add the remaining tablespoon of oil, onion, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to the skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the onion is softened, 2 to 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, oregano, and pepper flakes, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add the pasta, water and broth. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is very thick and syrupy and almost completely absorbed, 12 to 15 minutes. There should still be a little bit of liquid in the bottom of the skillet but the pasta should be tender.

Add the broccoli and sun-dried tomatoes. Stir lightly to incorporate them into the pasta mixture. Cover the skillet, reduce the heat to medium, and cook until the broccoli turns bright green and is almost tender, 2-3 minutes. While the broccoli is cooking, whisk the cream and cornstarch together.

Uncover the skillet and stir in the cream, Parmesan, and reserved chicken with any accumulated juices and continue to simmer, uncovered, until the sauce is thickened and the chicken is heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve, topped with extra Parmesan, if desired.

My thoughts:

Since my husband and I are not a fan of tomatoes we left them out but otherwise it was DELICIOUS!!

Recipe: Vodka Slush

Holiday season is a reason for creativity. You get to bake, decorate, and make a fun holiday drink. My mother-in-law has the most delicious recipe that I look forward to making every year, and today, I'm going to share with you!

Vodka Slush

Things you'll need:

1 - 6oz cherry jello gelatin (We use red for Christmas. This jellos interchangeable! Any holiday switch out the colors!)
2 - 12oz frozen orange juice
2 - 12oz frozen lemonade
4 cups of cranberry juice
4 cups of vodka
7up or Sprite
A GIANT BOWL (that's able to fit in your freezer)
Freezer room

Directions:

1. Grab your giant bowl and pour 1 - 6oz cherry jello gelatin.
2. Dissolve in 2 cups of hot water.
3. Add 6 cups of cold water.
4. Throw 2 - 12 oz frozen orange juice AND 2 - 12 oz frozen lemonade.
5. Followed by 4 cups of cranberry juice AND 4 cups of vodka.
6. Freeze for 48 hours before serving, pulling out of freezer every couple of hours to stir. It will gradually turn to slush.
7. Serve with 7-up or Sprite.

It's delicious and everyone will remember your parties based on this delicious treat! Add some spritz and sugar cookies and you'll be the newest Christmas hot spot!

Recipe: Spicy Chicken Bites

As you know, being a Beginner Housewife the key is simplicity. If you get to darn creative you lose focus and you lose the fun (at least for me). So last week when I was pinning over on Pinterest (SERIOUSLY follow me... it's fun!) I fell across buffalo chicken bites. They weren't exactly what I wanted but the idea triggered a simple approach and I took it.

I present to you, my delicious (but not attractive) chicken bites.

Things you'll need:

Chicken
Spices (I use red pepper and various others. This is the part where your creative soul takes over)!
Pillsbury Crescent Recipe Creations Seamless Dough Sheet (this makes it so easy)!
Shredded Cheese
A pan
A cookie sheet
Foil
An oven
A cutting board

Extras:

Homemade potato chips

Directions:

1. Spice up your chicken. Normally while cooking (in a pan) over a stove I add them. I love to be creative and try some new combinations, but the choice is yours on how spicy or sweet you want your chicken!
2. Heat up the oven to the directions of the pillsbury dough.
3. While cooking the chicken you can also chop up your potato and throw them into the frying pan OR stove to bake so you have the salty side item.
4. When the chicken is complete you'll want to lay out the pillsbury dough and cut it into triangles.
5. Add in the middle of the dough the chicken and cheese, cover the combination tightly and place on the cookie sheet. Repeat until complete.
6. Cook for the alloted time (as listed on the pillsbury package), and voila, dinner is served!

It's up to you on if you'd like to add the potato chips or veggies. The hubster and I love to mix it up. But for now, they're you are! Enjoy!

Recipe: Mini Taco Pizzas

My husband and I love simple! The easier and faster the recipe the more successful it'll be in our house.

I present to you, Mini Taco Pizzas!!!

This is such a great recipe for easy nights in and the kids can join in for the fun as well!

Things you'll need:

Hamburger
Refried Beans
Taco Seasoning
Shredded Cheese
Some style of breading (we use anywhere from bagels, flatbreads, to sandwich rounds).
Chips (optional)
A cookie sheet
foil
An oven

Directions:

1. Brown the ground beef. Add the taco seasoning as instructed.
2. Heat up the refried beans.
3. Use the beans as the sauce, placing it over the breading of choice (if you can use a toaster to toughen up the bread, do, but it's not necessary).
4. Add hamburger to the pizza, followed by the shredded cheese of your choice.
5. Turn oven on to broil.
6. WATCH your pizza, you're just looking for the cheese to melt. Normally takes about 2 minutes.
7. Pull out of oven and added the fixings (lettuce, sauces, chips)!
Such an easy and delicious recipe that I've yet to screw up... unless you count burning the chips while having the oven on broil... I didn't watch carefully enough!

Recipe: Hot Apple Cider in Apples!

One of my favorite scents is the smell of apples and cinnamon. You could achieve this by baking a pie or buying a candle but my favorite way is by making hot apple cider.

Toast autumn's arrival with hot apple cider, the quintessential fall evening drink. With this easy-to-make crock-pot recipe, you will be ready in no time to serve a few mugs to your friends at a festive gathering, or just grab a mug for yourself and settle down before the warm hearth.

Things you'll need:

1 gallon apple juice

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 piece of cheese cloth

cooking twine

3-4 whole cloves

2 cinnamon sticks broken into small pieces

1 whole nutmeg

Orange peel

Small crock pot

Directions:

1. Place cloves, cinnamon sticks, nutmeg and orange peel in the cheese cloth. Draw the corners of the cheese cloth together and tie the twine around to create a small spice sack.

2. Pour apple juice into a crock pot and stir in the lemon juice with a wooden spoon. For tangier cider, you may opt to add a little more lemon juice.

3. Plug in the crock pot and set the heat on a low or medium setting. If you do not have time for the cider to heat slowly, use a high setting and stir more often.

4. Allow apple juice to heat for approx 20-30 minutes or until warm.

5. Put the spice sack directly in the apple juice. Stir the cider occasionally, moving the spices around the crock pot if necessary.

6. Remove spice sack and discard once cider is heated to preferred temperature.

7. Pour the piping hot cider in your mug (or apple if you're daring)!

8. For a cute touch add a cinnamon stick as a stirrer!

Author note: If you want something even easier, go to a nearby store and look for 'mulling spices' read the directions (normally just requires apple cider juice) and you'll have cider with a lot less ingredients!

Wednesday: Reasons to love Etsy!

Recipe: Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

Subject: Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
Recipe: Found on Stumbleupon
How I fared: Horribly

Yes. This round definitely earned an F. Following directions was easy, to start with, but putting it into action was terrible. Not only was I frustrated but there were several uses of inappropriate language.

It sort of went like this:

Hubs: I'll start the bacon and eggs.
Me: *nods* *furrows brow* *pours batter* Dammit!
Hubs: What happened?
Me: Look... *we both stare at half the batter in the pan the other half out*

By the fourth try I was able to keep the batter in the pan, add cinnamon mix (with a plastic spoon) - bag instructions they offered blew this beginner out of the water.

Thoughts: Maybe next time I'll just add the cinnamon to the batter... it'd probably taste the same.

So, I'm sure you're all interested in a photo.

Here is what it was supposed to look like...

Here is what mine looks like. Clearly the swirl is not my area of expertise... and yes, this was with the spoon (it was difficult regardless). You also don't see much cinnamon on the finished product (the other side was awful), but you can see it is indeed a pancake.

Verdict:
Looks - Like a pancake (though my kitchen was atrocious)
Taste - Delicious

Question: Have you had any beginner mishaps?

Wednesday: Tara Wilson's Party Pantry Checklist - Leaving you ready to entertain at a moment's notice!