Chicken & Broccoli Lasagna

Prep Time: 20 min
Bake Time: 30 min

Ingredients

• 8 oz lasagna 
• 2 cups of cooked shredded chicken
• 1 cup of steamed broccoli ("mashed up")
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup half and half
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp oregano 
• Italian breadcrumbs for topping

Directions

1. Cook lasagna, drain.
2. Steam broccoli
3. Cook and shred chicken breasts
4. In a bowl, mix sour cream, half and half, Parmesan cheese, soups, garlic, oregano, broccoli, and chicken.
5. Spoon a thin layer of mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan.
6. Place one layer of lasagna noodles flat in pan.
7. Spoon mixture to cover noodles.
8. Continue layering noodles and mixture until all gone (finish with the chicken mixture as the last layer).
9. Sprinkle breadcrumbs on top.
10. Bake at 350 for 30 min.

Personal Flair and Reflections
 This recipe came about as a last minute "use what I have in the kitchen because it's time to go to the grocery store." It turned out quite yummy!
When I try this again, I think I would like to add some shredded cheese (mozzarella perhaps) to the mixture.

Family Friendly Tip
I had a friend get me started on doing this: buy a large pack of chicken breasts. Place chicken breasts in crock pot, cover with chicken broth, and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Shred with tongs or fork (it will fall apart super easy!!) Let cool. Separate into 2 cup portions. Freeze. It makes for easy thawing of already cooked, shredded chicken. This tip will help you skip step number 3 :)

Cheesy Spaghetti Bake

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Bake Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 8oz spaghetti noodles
• 1lb ground beef
• 1 cup milk
• 2 cups spaghetti sauce
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup (10 3/4 oz)
• 2 cups shredded cheese
• shredded cheese to top

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Cook spaghetti noodles; drain.
3. Brown ground beef; drain.
4. Return beef to pain and add milk, sauce, soup, and cheese. Mix well.
5. Heat on medium until smooth
6. Mix sauce and noddles in casserole dish
7. Sprinkle with cheese
8. Bake for 30 minutes

Personal Flair and Reflections
    This was definitely a family pleaser! My 2 year has been going through a phase of only eating her fruits and veggies, but tonight when I gave her the plate of "sgetti" she gobbled it all up and asked for more! I will definitely have to make this more often for her!
    This is my own variation of a recipe I found at "Taste of Home" .

Family Friendly Tips
   This can be done and put together at any time, and popped in the oven right before dinner time!

Chicken and Stuffing Casserole

Prep Time: 15-20 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 1lb boneless chicken breast
• 2 cups mixed veggies
• 4 cups stuffing
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup (10 3/4 oz)
• 1 can cream of chicken soup (10 3/4 oz)
• 1 cup milk

Directions

1. Cube and cook chicken
2. Cook veggies
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
4. Mix chicken broth and stuffing in a bowl
5. Mix cooked chicken, cooked veggies, milk, and soups in a 2 qt casserole dish
6. Spoon stuffing over chicken and veggie mix
7. Bake for 25 minutes

Personal Flair and Reflections
     We used to do a lot of "dinners in a box" before our children were old enough to eat what we prepared. One of my favorites was a turkey stuffing casserole. So I played around and modified that to make this recipe. Tastes yummy, but is a little healthier than the boxed dinner.
You can really use whatever type of veggies you want for this recipe. I used frozen mixed veggies.

Variation
 This recipe will also work well with biscuits made from scratch instead of stuffing. However your prefer to prepare homestyle biscuits, the spoon out multiple biscuits and spread them out on top of the chicken mix.

Family Friendly Tips
     The chicken and veggies can be cooked at any time, and kept in the refrigerator until time to cook. Also you can put this casserole together completely and freeze or put in the refrigerator until ready to cook.

Melissa's Meatloaf

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 1-1.5 lbs ground beef
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs
• 1/8 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/8 cup ketchup
• 1/8 cup BBQ Sauce
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Mix all ingredients well (best results, use your clean hands!)
3. Shape into 1 or 2 loaves on pan 
4. Bake for 30 minutes/or completely cooked through.

Personal Flair and Reflections 
     Over the last few years of cooking, I have played around a lot. Meatloaf is one of those foods that I've never had a recipe for, but I've always done a little bit of this, a little bit of that etc. I have finally gotten to where I use the same ingredients each time because we absolutely love it. I never measure things out, so I pulled out my measuring cups to get an idea of how much I usually use so I could share my yummy meatloaf (and so I could add it to my binder and hubby could make it sometime ;)).
     So this recipe you have is an estimation of what I normally do. But feel free to add more or less of your favorites. Have fun! Play until you find the taste you like!
     Additionally, I do sometimes I add oregano, or top with cheese during the last few minutes of cooking. I have also added BBQ sauce to the top while cooking.
     My favorite pan to use while making this is my broiler pan. It is a wonderful way to let the grease run down into the bottom portion of the pan so the meatloaf is not too greasy!

Family Friendly Tip
     This is so easy to make. One way to help with the dinner time crazies is to mix all the ingredients in bowl earlier in the day when you get a free moment (like nap time!) or even the night before. Cover and refrigerate until you are ready to cook!

Crock Pot - Zesty Italian Sirloin Pork Roast

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 6 hours

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup Italian Dressing OR
• 1/4 cup vinegar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1 packet Good Season Italian Dressing Mix
• 1.5-2lbs Boneless Sirloin Pork Roast
• 2 cups spaghetti sauce
• shredded cheese and/or grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Place pork in crock pot.
2. Pour Italian dressing over pork
3. Cook on LOW for 4 hours.
4. Break pork into smaller chunks.
5. Cover pork with spaghetti sauce.
6. Top with cheese.
7. Cook on LOW for 2 hours.
8. Serve over pasta.

Personal Flair and Reflection
     I chose to use the Good Season Italian dressing mix, but using already prepared Italian dressing would work the same. The spaghetti sauce can be whichever kind is your favorite. I use Ragu Traditional Sauce.

     I was looking through recipes and found one for pork chops that included using spaghetti sauce. I had already been thinking about doing my pork roast in the crock pot with Italian dressing, so I thought about putting the two together somehow. So this recipe was really a creation I played around with. I wasn't sure what to expect having the spaghetti sauce flavor with the pork roast, but surprisingly it took on a whole new taste. The meat was delicious and tender, with just enough flavor to make your taste buds dance.
     You can scoop the sauce and meat over pasta if you wish. I actually added the cooked bow tie pasta to the crock pot and mixed well. I served with corn and buttered bread. Over all it was a success! Enjoy!

Fluffy French Toast

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• 6 slices of thick bread
• 3 tablespoons butter
• powdered sugar
• butter
• syrup

Directions

1. Mix together eggs, milk, flour, sugar, vanilla, salt, and cinnamon
2. Heat skillet or griddle
3. Butter skillet/griddle
4. Dipe each side of bread in mix for 30 seconds
5. Cook each side until golden brown (1 1/2-2 minutes)
6. Add more butter if necessary

To Serve

• Dust with powdered sugar
• Top with butter and syrup

Source
http://www.food.com/90674

Chuck Steak Teryaki

Prep Time: 4-24 hours
Cook Time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• boneless beef chuck steaks

Directions

1. In a small bowl, mix all ingredients except meat.
2. Pour into a large zip lock bag or shallow baking dish.
3. Place meat in marinade and coat.
4. Close bag or cover dish.
5. Refrigerate for 4-24 hours, turning over occasionally.
6. Remove meat from marinade and place on broiler pan.
7. Broil 10 minutes, basting often.
8. Turn meat over and broil 8 minutes for rare to medium, 10-12 minutes for well done.

Personal Flair and Reflection
     I had to keep on eye on this while they were broiling. Mine were done before the given time. But they were super yummy - and juicy. I know, I love juicy meats!

Source
http://www.food.com/67662

Oven Baked Boneless BBQ Ribs

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 2-2 1/2 hours

Ingredients

• Boneless Pork Ribs
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon Grill Mates Pork Rub
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 2 cups favorite BBQ sauce

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Mix together sugar and spices.
3. Rub mix on all sides of ribs.
4. Lay ribs on 2 layers of foil.
5. Lay 2 layers of foil on top of ribs.
6. Fold edges of foil together to seal.
7. Place on baking sheet.
8. Bake for 2-2 1/2 hours.
9. Remove from oven and heat broiler.
10. Carefully remove ribs from foil and arrange on broiler pan.
11. Brush on BBQ sauce and broil for 2 minutes
12. Repeat on other side.

Personal Flair and Reflection
     These were scrumptious and juicy!

Source
My own variation of http://www.food.com/107786

Homemade Mac-n-Cheese

Prep Time: 20-30 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 16 ounces elbow macaroni 
• 1/2 cup margarine
• 6 tablespoons flour
• 4 cups milk
• 16 ounces block cheese
• dash of salt and pepper
• saltine crackers

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook noodles until tender and drain.
3. While noodles are cooking, mix butter, flour, milk, and salt/pepper over medium heat.
4. Cut cheese into smaller chunks and slowly add to mixture.
5. Cook over medium heat until smooth.
6. Continue stirring to keep from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
7. Add noodles to the sauce.
8. Pour noodles and sauce into baking pan/casserole dish.
9. Crush crackers and sprinkle on top.
10. Bake for 25 minutes.

Personal Flair and Reflections
     Growing up my grandmother and my mom would make homemade mac n cheese that was my absolute favorite! After I went off to college, I asked my mom for the recipe (thinking it was some secret family recipe). All to find out this recipe came off the back of the Mueller's pasta box.
I have adapted it to my style and even like to add our own special ingredient. This special ingredient is cubed ham! Yum!
     The recipe on the box only calls for half the ingredients. But we love it SO much, that I double the recipe so we can eat it for lunch the next day. :)

Juicy Oven-Fried Italian Cheesy Chicken Breasts

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30-35 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 packet Good Seasons Italian Salad Dressing Mix
• 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• shredded cheese to top

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a bowl, mix butter, garlic, and salt.
3. In another bowl, mix Italian dressing mix, bread crumbs, cheddar cheese, and Parmesan cheese.
4. Dip chicken in butter mix.
5. Coat buttery chicken pieces with cheese mix.
6. Place in baking pan
7. Bake uncovered for 30-35 minutes (longer for thicker pieces)
8. Top with shredded cheese for the last 5 minutes

Personal Flair and Reflections 
     Can you say yummmmy? This was a huge hit in my house.
The Good Seasons Italian Salad Dressing Mix has become a favorite seasoning of mine! It has fantastically sensational blend of flavor!
     I am not a huge fan of white meat - mostly because it is too dry or flavorless. But not the way I make this recipe! My personal flair on this recipe is that I cut the chicken breasts into fourths, and I cook them in a pan that is barely big enough to fit them all. I place the chicken so they are touching and have a tight fit in the pan. The smaller pieces allows for the juices and flavor to get absorbed all the way through. And fitting them tightly in the pan causes them to cook in their own juices more.
     This recipe is very juicy and full of flavor in every bite!

Special Note: This recipe can also be used with pork chops! (Although the pork chops don't need to fit tightly and touching,  and can be normal size etc.)

FLYing Habit of the Month

     Each month, FlyLady focuses on one thing to make a habit. For the month of November, we are working on making menu planning a habit. To help me with this habit, I am starting a pretty pink binder (in honor of Breast Cancer) with recipes that have been family tested and approved. I have different sections, and plan to eventually have at least 30 recipes in each section (although this will most likely take me longer than the month of November, but that's OK)!
    My sections are: Main Dish, Sides, Veggies, Fruits, Desserts, Lunch, and Breakfast.

I hope to provide a nice variety of foods for my family (kid-friendly!). I have never been the most daring eater in the world, and really was never taught to like or eat many foods. As I am a mom now, I want my children to learn to be better eaters than I was/am. In attempts to do this, I want to learn to like new things, which means I need to learn new ways to cook things. I will eat a lot of things if they are prepared the right way (I am a very textural eater). So I have decided to add this journey to my blog about the Gunter Life journey! As I add a new recipe to my binder, I will add it to my blog to share. And of course, please feel free to share some of your tried and true recipes as well!

I already have a few recipes in my binder (not including our family favorites that I make without recipe). I will begin with those, and continue as more are added. Enjoy the next few posts with some yummy food!