Roasted Mushrooms and Onion with Gouda Grilled Cheese

Everyone loves grilled cheese. So when I say this pin, I thought that sounds amazing.

My amazing husband actually made these while I was out. He made them the way the recipe says. He said they tasted good but he was mad that he just spent an hour making one grilled cheese. So when I got home he made me one and changed how it was done.

I have to say, this is my new favorite grilled cheese! The flavors are great contrasts to each other. This will defiantly be made again in our house!

Over all this was a: Pintrest Success

Ingredients:
* 8oz Mushrooms sliced
* 1 Medium Onion
* Salt and pepper to taste
* 2 TBSP Olive Oil
* 4 Slices of your favorite bread (sourdough is what we used)
* Butter

Directions:
In a skillet sauté the onions until they are almost caramelized, then add the mushrooms.
Butter the outsides of the bread
Shred the Gouda cheese and place it on one side of the bread
Top Gouda cheese with mushrooms and onions.
Top with more cheese (to make sure it all stays together)
Cook your grilled cheese in the pan you sauté mushrooms in (we wiped ours out with a paper towel)
Enjoy!

Tortellini Soup

Looking for a warm delicious soup? I have to say this is probably the best tortellini soup I have had and its easy to make! Everything goes into the Crockpot and you cook it on low for 5-6 hours.

Overall this was a: Pintrest Success


Ingredients:
* One bag frozen Tortellini
* One small bag of spinach
* 2 cans Italian style diced tomatoes
* One Box (of 4 cups) of Vegetable Broth
* 1 Block of Cream Cheese

Directions:
Put all ingredients into the crockpot, chunking up the cream cheese. Cook on low for 5-6 hours.
Serve with Garlic Bread

Meatball Casserole

Who loves meatball subs? My family does, so when I came across this Pintrest recipe for Meatball Casserole I had to try it. I am glad I did! It was so good! It was creamy, rich in flavor and the bread "toasted" on the bottom.

Overall this was a: Pintrest Success

Meatball Casserole

Ingredients
* 1 loaf of Italian bread, cut into 1-inch thick slices
* 1 (8oz) package cream cheese, softened
* 1/2 cup mayonnaise
* 1 tsp Italian Seasoning
* 1/4 tsp pepper
* 2 cups mozzarella cheese, divided
* 1-lb pkg. fully cooked frozen meatballs, thawed
* 1 cup water

Directions
* Preheat oven to 350*
* Arrange bread slices in a single layer in an greased 9x13 baking dish (fill any little gaps with small pieces of bread)
* Combine cream cheese, mayonnaise and seasonings in a bowl, mix well and spread over bread
* Sprinkle with 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
* Gently mix together spaghetti sauce and meatballs
* Sprinkle with remaining cheese
* Baked uncovered for 30-35 minutes

**Note: if your worried about your bread being soggy, toast it before you layer it. I did not toast my bread and it came out perfect.

 Recipe courtesy of: http://www.thecountrycook.net

Zuppa Toscana

Who loves Olive Garden Soup and Salad? Umm this girl does! My favorite soup was Zuppa Toscana! So when I stumbled upon the recipe on Pintrest, I had to make it!

This was a HIT at my house. Everyone loved it. It has such great flavor and is really easy to make. I served this with French bread, but if you made up a salad too it would be like you were eating out at the Olive Garden!

Overall this was a: Pintrest Success!

Ingredients:

pound ground Italian sausage

1 1/4 teaspoons crushed red pepper

4-6 slices bacon, cooked and cut into pieces 

1 large onion, diced

1 tablespoon minced garlic

5 (13.75 ounce) cans chicken broth

3-4 medium potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 bunch kale, coarsely chopped

Directions:

Cook the Italian sausage and red pepper flakes in a Dutch oven (or large pot with a lid) over medium-high heat until crumbly, browned, and no longer pink, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Add the onions and garlic the same Dutch oven; cook until onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.

Pour the chicken broth into the Dutch oven with the onion mixture and bacon; bring to a boil over high heat. Add the potatoes, and boil until fork tender, about 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the heavy cream and the cooked sausage; heat through. Mix the kale into the soup just before serving.

 

recipe courtesy of: http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2013/01/zuppa-toscana.html

Chicken Taco Filling

Craving Mexican? Wanting something that you can fix and forget? I found this amazing recipe on Pintrest (of course) and it was a HUGE hit with my family and a guest we had for dinner!

The flavors in this are great. We put the filling in tortillas, topped with our favorite taco toppings (cheese, sour cream, salsa, etc.) and it was a meal in it self! This will be made again in the Rasband's Household!

Overall this was a: Pintrest Success!

Ingredients:
* Bag of frozen chicken tenderloins (2.5-3lb bag)
* 8oz block of cream cheese (don't use fat free! 1/3 less fat or regular is fine)
* 1 Can of black beans (drained and rinsed)
* One can of  corn, drained
* One can of Rotel


Directions:
* Place frozen chicken in the crockpot
* put cream cheese on top of the chicken
* Dump in the back beans (make sure they are drained and rinsed)
* Dump in drained corn
* Dump in Rote
* Cook on low for 6-8 hours, try and stir every 2 hours.
* You can shred the chicken or leave it whole (I shredded mine to make taco fillings)
(may be a little soupy, so if you turn the crockpot off and let it sit for 30-45 minute it will be less soupy).
* Serve in tortillas or serve over rice!



Recipe and photos courtesy of: http://thelarsonlingo.blogspot.com

Crockpot Orange Chicken

Loving Chinese food, I thought that this Orange Chicken sounded good. I was reading all the ingredients and I thought, what a weird combination, but I will give it a try.

The flavors in this dish were outstanding. I never would have thought that the mixture of flavors would make such a delicious creation. Everyone in the house loved it and we will defiantly be making this dish again! I think my kids will love it as well!

Overall this was a: Pintrest Success!



Crockpot Orange Chicken

Ingredients:
4-5 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, thawed
3/4 cup Sweet Orange Marmalade
3/4 cup Sweet Baby Ray's Original BBQ Sauce
2 tbls. Soy Sauce
Crockpot

Directions:
Cook chicken in the crockpot on high for 3 hours (covered)
After 3 hours, drain juices from the crockpot
Mix together BBQ sauce, marmalade and soy sauce
Pour mixture over chicken, and cook on high for 30 more minutes (covered)
Serve over rice and enjoy!


Recipe courtesy of: http://thefrugalgirls.com/2013/04/crockpot-orange-chicken-recipe.html

Chicken Kale Bake

The other night I decided to try something a little different. I have been on a Kale kick, so I found this recipe for a Chicken Kale Bake. All the ingredients sounded good, so I grabbed a rotisserie chicken on my way home and began dinner....

With the help of my husband, we got everything mixed, sautéed, shredded and boiled in no time at all (he is a great Sous Chef for the record). As we were mixing things together Scott stated that he thinks its calling for way too much lemon zest. I told him to just do it and follow the recipe. So we added everything EXACTLY as the recipe called for, mixed it together and threw it in the oven. It looked good... After it was done baking we all dished up and sat down to eat dinner. Kimmie was the first to taste it and shouted "It taste like fruit loop noodles"! She is also a very picky eater, so I was the next to try it... It indeed tasted like fruit loop noodles. Scott stated "I told you it was too much lemon zest" and my brother who is a human garbage can and eats anything and everything said "you know I don't complain about food, but it does taste like fruit loop noodles".

After we all laughed and choked this down (no one went back for seconds), we all agreed that this not a recipe that will be made in our house again!

Overall this was a: Pintrest FAIL

Chicken & Kale Bake

Ingredients

• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 3/4 pound large pasta shells
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 large yellow onion, diced medium
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 bunches kale (1 1/2 pounds), tough stems and ribs removed, leaves coarsely chopped
• 2 cups shredded or chopped cooked chicken (from 1/2 rotisserie chicken)
• 1 container (48 ounces) part-skim ricotta
• 3 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest (from 2 lemons)
• 3/4 cup Parmesan, grated (2 1/4 ounces)

Directions

1. Step 1

   Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain; return to pot. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high. Add onion and garlic; cook until onion is beginning to soften, 4 minutes. Add kale, cover, and cook until almost tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer to pot with pasta.

2. Step 2

   Stir in chicken, ricotta, lemon zest, and 1/2 cup Parmesan; season with salt and pepper. Transfer mixture to a 9-by-13-inch baking dish; top with 1/4 cup Parmesan. Bake until top is golden, 30 minutes.

 

 

Recipe courtesy of: http://www.marthastewart.com/862208/chicken-and-kale-casserole?czone=food/chicken-recipes/favorite-chicken-recipes&center=897845&gallery=894534&slide=862208