Easy Chicken Parmesan

Prep: 5 minutes Total: 40 minutes

Ingredients:
1 jar (14 oz) spaghetti sauce
6 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese, divided
6 small boneless skinless chicken breast (1 1/2 lb)
1 1/2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese



Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Pour sauce into 13x9-inch baking dish.



Carefully stir in 4 Tbsp of the parmesan cheese.



Add chicken; turn over to evenly coat both sides with sauce.



Cover with foil. Bake 30 minutes.



Uncover. Top with mozzarella cheese and remaining 2 Tbsp parmesan cheese.



Continue baking 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and cheese is melted.



Serve over hot cooked pasta, if desired.

Makes 6 servings.

Verdict:

Laura -Thumb Sideways - This was just ok. It didn't blow me away. I liked the pasta more than the chicken. I won't make this again.

Randy - No response - Randy wouldn't even take a bite of this. It didn't look appealing.

Nathan - Thumbs Down - Nathan only ate a couple of bites of the chicken and pasta. He wasn't interested in it.

Leftovers: I scraped the cheese and sauce off the chicken. I cubed it up and ate it in a salad. This meal was a bust for the whole family.

"Fruit Smoothie" No-Bake Cheesecake

Prep: 15 minutes Total: 4 hours 15 minutes

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 Tbsp sugar
4 pkg cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 pkg (12 oz) frozen mixed berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries), thawed, drained
1 tub (8 oz) whipped topping, thawed, divided



Directions:

Melt butter.



Mix in graham crumbs.



Mix in 2 Tbsp of sugar.



Mix until well combined.



Press firmly onto bottom of prepared pan. Refrigerate while preparing filling.



Beat cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar in large bowl with electric mixer.



Mix on medium speed until well blended.



Thaw out the berries.



Drain the berries.



Smash berries with fork.



Stir into cheese mixture.



Gently stir in 2 cups of the whipped topping.



Spoon over crust.



Cover and refrigerate 4 hours or until firm. Top with remaining whipped topping. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.

Makes 16 servings, 1 piece each.

Verdict:

Laura - Thumbs Down - This was not very sweet. It tasted like a brick of cream cheese. I won't make this again.

Randy - Thumbs Down - Not good. Don't make this again.

Nathan - No response. Nathan didn't eat any.

Leftovers: No leftovers. We threw them out.

Crustless Bacon and Cheese Quiche

I halfed this recipe because Randy doesn't eat eggs and I didn't want to have a lot of leftovers. I will give you the full recipe.



Prep: 15 minutes Total: 45 minutes

Ingredients:
1 cup sliced green onions (I omitted these.)
1 cup chopped tomatoes
12 slices bacon
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
12 eggs
1/3 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I used colby jack.)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese




Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Cook bacon however you like to. I used precooked bacon, so I heated mine in the microwave.



Cook mushrooms in skillet about 2 minutes or until tender. Remove from heat.



Chop bacon and add to mushrooms.



Add onions and tomatoes; mix well.



Beat eggs.



Add sour cream and beat with wire whisk until well blended.



Pour egg mixture into greased 13x9-inch baking dish.



Top with bacon mixture.



Top with cheeses.



Bake 30 minutes or until center is set. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting into pieces to serve.



Makes 12 servings, 1 piece each.

Verdict:

Laura - Thumbs Up - This was great. You can use this recipe as a road map and change up the veggies, meat and cheeses with whatever you like. Next time, I think I'll use spinach, tomatoes and feta cheese.

Randy - Randy did not take a bite of this. He doesn't eat eggs.

Nathan - Thumbs Up - Nathan liked this. He normally doesn't eat eggs, so I was surprised he liked it.

Leftovers: This was great the second time. I ate some for breakfast this morning.

Grill Cheese!

Hello, Randy here. Periodically, I think I'll highjack the blog to insert some of my personal favorites. What's cookin' tonight? Grill Cheese! For over a decade, I used to make "grill cheese" with a toaster and microwave. It worked and I got fed. Recently I learned how to make a better version. It is significantly more complicated, it takes longer, and it carries a much higher risk of screwing up ... but it tastes better than the microwave version. Don't worry, I'll step you through it.

Ingredients:
There are three ingrediants. First, start with two pieces of bread. I prefer white bread. Wheat bread is for hippies and people who aren't "regular". Second is the cheese. I use one slice. The people at Kraft do a pretty decent job of making something that resembles cheese. I use that. Be sure to take the plastic off, that's important. Third, I use Smart Balance spread. With the word Smart in the title, it must be good right? Maybe it offsets some of the bad stuff you get in the cheese.



Directions
Okay, here we go. Turn on the stove and get a grill cheese pan (most stores sell them under the name "omlet pan", whatever that is). Spread butter on one side of each piece of bread.



Toss one piece of bread in the pan with the butter side down. Throw on the cheese. You took the plastic off the cheese right?



Then toss on the other piece of bread, butter side up.



It cooks fast, so don't wander off. Use a spatchula to lift and peek under the bread to make sure you don't burn it. Keep peeking regularly. When it looks good, flip it over and brown the other side. Keep peeking on that second side. When it looks good, get it out of the pan. There ya go, you're done!

I like to serve it on a paper towel.

Makes 1 serving. Your friends have to make their own.

Verdict:

Randy - Thumbs Up (see above photo)

Laura - No vote. Remember, friends have to make their own, and she didn't make one.

Nathan - No vote, he was sleeping.

Leftovers: None.

Ranch Coleslaw

This recipe is so easy. I'm almost embarrassed to post it.



Total: 10 minutes

Ingredients:
1 pkg (16 oz) coleslaw blend
1/2 cup ranch dressing
5 slices bacon, crisply cooked, drained and crumbled



Directions:

Open bag of coleslaw and pour in bowl.



Mix in dressing. I found it easiest to toss with tongs.



Cook your bacon. I used pre-cooked bacon, so I just crisped it up in the microwave. Crumble bacon.



Mix in bacon.



I paired the Ranch Coleslaw with the Simple Southern-Style "Unfried" Chicken.

Makes 6 servings, 3/4 cup each.

Verdict:

Laura - Thumbs Up - Delicious! I love the smokey flavor of the bacon. I will make this again.

Randy - Thumbs Down - I didn't like the bacon. It wasn't creamy enough.

Nathan - Thumbs Up - Nathan ate this up. Yum, Yum!!

Leftovers: I just ate some this evening. It didn't taste as good as it did the first night. It was still crunchy, but it just tasted different. Next time I make this, I will make a smaller batch to try to not have leftovers.

Bruschetta Chicken Bake

Prep: 10 minutes Total: 45 minutes

Ingredients:
1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 pkg (6 oz) Stove Top stuffing mix for chicken
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tsp dried basil leaves (I didn't have basil instead I used Italian seasonings.)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Heat oven to 400 degrees F.

Mix tomatoes, stuffing mix, water and garlic just until stuffing mix is moistened.



Layer chicken,



basil,



cheese



and stuffing in 13x9-inch or 3 qt baking dish.



Bake 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.



I added some more cheese to the top and baked an additional 5 minutes.



Enjoy now or cover and refrigerate. To reheat, microwave each serving on high 2 to 3 minutes.



Makes 6 servings, 1 cup each.

Verdict:

Laura - Thumbs Up - I like this meal. It is fast and easy to make. I love the fact that it bakes in the oven and I don't have to stand over a hot stove. I also love the moistness of the chicken and the crunchy top of the stuffing. I will make this again.

Randy - Thumbs Down - The chicken was too juicy and I don't like stuffing.

Nathan - Thumbs Down - Nathan didn't eat this which surprised me. His Dad did fill him full of yogurt while I baked it, so he just wasn't hungry. Maybe he will eat some leftovers.

Leftovers: I reheated it in the microwave. It was really good except the stuffing was a little soggy. If you want crunchy stuffing the second time around, you'll need to reheat in the oven.

On a side note, Nathan did not eat this for leftovers. So his "Thumbs Down" stands.