Simple Cinnamon Rolls

This recipe came from the Taste of Home website and I've made them several times - they are so good and really easy. They are very simple and I love how you can make a little or a lot very easily. If you only need a small amount (like for your kids breakfast before school) just use one can of crescent rolls, and if you need a lot (like I did for our SS class today) then you can use 3 or 4 cans. Give them a try - and try to eat only one! :)

Simple Cinnamon Rolls

1 Tube Crescent Rolls
1/4 Cup Sugar
1 tsp. Cinnamon

Icing Glaze

1/4 Cup Powdered Sugar
1/4 Cup Regular Sugar
1 Tbsp. Milk

Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside. Unroll tube of crescent rolls and press seams together. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture all over crescent rolls.

Roll up, jelly roll style, starting at the long end.

Once rolled all the way up, cut into 8 equal pieces and place cut side down into a greased round cake pan. (If making a large amount, use a greased 9x13).

Cajun Chicken Pasta

My friend, Sarah (who you can find right HERE) posted this recipe last week and I just knew I had to make it! This morning I made up my menu for the week and put this down for tonight's meal. It was wonderful! Maddie even told me that it was better than Olive Garden, which made me feel pretty good. I left out the sun-dried tomatoes only because I looked all over the store and couldn't find them. A couple tips - I brought my sauce up to a very low boil, then turned it to a simmer and then added my noodles. The sauce will thicken once you add your noodles. DON'T rinse the linguine after they are cooked. The starches from the pasta will thicken your sauce. Another tip is to save your pasta water so that if it the noodles start to absorb too much of your sauce, you can add a ladle of pasta water and it will make it nice and creamy again. Enjoy! Thanks, Sarah, for posting the recipe - it's a winner! Oh and be on the lookout next month - Sarah has graciously offered to do a giveaway of some adorable fall/winter themed kitchen towels! I've already seen a preview of what she's making and they are adorable! So stay tuned!!

Cajun Chicken Pasta

2-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into small strips)
8 ounces linguini (cooked all dente)
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
2 tablespoons butter
1 green onion (thinly sliced)
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes (chopped)
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon dried basil
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
¼ cup parmesan cheese

Cut chicken into small strips, place in a bowl and toss in Cajun seasoning.

Melt butter in skillet and add chicken. Cook until no longer pink and juices run clear. Approx. 7-8 minutes. Stir in heavy cream, green onions, tomatoes, and seasonings. Bring to a low boil and then reduce heat to a simmer.

Toss with cooked noodles and stir to combine.

Sprinkle in parmesan cheese and serve! (I used this kind - not the kind in the green can.)

It was so quick, easy and thumbs up all around!

Paula Deen's Slow Cooker Italian Chicken

There really doesn't need to be any introduction to this recipe. The only thing you need to read is "Paula Deen" and then just go make it. Just remember - it's Paula. It's not fat free, not even remotely close. The gravy this recipe makes is good enough to pour over your entire plate of food. I won't say if I did that or not.

So, this week, in honor of a bunch of my teacher-friends gearing up to go back to work, I'm posting a great crock-pot recipe that hopefully will make your first week back to the grind a little easier. I'm sure the smell of this cooking away when you walk in the door from a crazy week back to school will wipe all your stress away! :)

Enjoy!

Paula Deen's Slow Cooker Italian Chicken

6 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
¼ cup butter
1 pkg. Good Season's Italian Dressing packet
1 can golden mushroom soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
8 oz. container cream cheese with chives and onion
1 cup chicken broth or White Cooking Wine

Place chicken breasts in slow cooker. In a saucepan, melt butter and stir in Italian dressing packet. Pour in soups, chicken broth and cream cheese and stir over medium heat until cream cheese is melted. Remove from heat and pour over chicken. Cook on low 6-8 hours or on high 4-5 hours.

**Great served along side mashed potatoes or rice.

Rich & Charlie's Salad

If you are from St. Louis, there's a pretty good chance you have eaten at Rich and Charlie's. If you aren't from STL, Rich and Charlie's is a great little Italian restaurant that has possibly one of the best Italian salads I've ever had. And somehow, somewhere along the way, my mom acquired their salad recipe. I'm not kidding, it's identical. Tastes SO great with pasta or pizza or just all alone.

If you ever get asked to take a salad to your next get together or are just sick of the same old salad with Ranch that we all eat weekly, give this a try. And DON'T let the pimentos and artichokes scare you - you can pick out the artichokes like I do if you don't really care for them. The pimentos don't have a weird taste, but add some pretty color to it. If you are a fellow St. Louisan (is that a word?), you can thank me (or my mom) at any time. :)

Rich and Charlie's Italian Salad

1 Head Iceberg Lettuce, washed and chopped
1/3 Head Romaine Lettuce, washed and chopped
1 Cup Red Onion, Chopped
1 Can Plain Artichoke Hearts, cut up
1 Jar Pimentos, Chopped

Dressing:

1/3 cup red wine vinegar
2/3 cup parmesan cheese
2/3 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Mix together well and chill until ready to serve. Toss salad and dressing together just before serving.

Cheeseburger Cups

Do you ever have those nights where you need something that's super easy and that you know the kids are going to eat without any complaints? If so, this is a great one to try. They are so yummy, super simple and most of these ingredients I keep on hand, so they come together really fast. You could make up some corn and a fruit salad and have a good meal that is sure to please everyone. Those are the kind of dinners that I like!

Cheeseburger Cups

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 cup ketchup
2 TBSP brown sugar
1 TBSP mustard
1-1/2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
1 tube (12 oz.) biscuits
10 small cubes Velveeta cheese

Brown burger and drain. Turn off heat and stir in ketchup, brown sugar, mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Press each biscuit onto the bottom and up the sides of a greased muffin tin. Spoon beef mixture into each biscuit cups and insert a cheese cube. Bake at 400* for 14-16 minutes or until golden brown.

BBQ Meatballs

My friend, Kerri, made this recipe for us after Mabrie was born and I can't believe I haven't posted it yet. Man, these things were GOOD! She made them with corn casserole and green beans and we all loved that combination of flavors. The meatballs are so juicy and have an awesome flavor. You could also make them and serve hashbrown potato casserole as a side. Or baked beans. Or Au Gratin potatoes. The possibilities are endless. Give them a try sometime! They are really yummy!

Thanks, Kerri, for bringing us such a yummy meal. It's so nice to have friends that are willing to take time out of their busy day to cook a meal when you have a baby. We really enjoyed this and my mouth is watering right now just thinking about them! :)

BBQ Meatballs

1 lg can evaporated milk
3 lbs. ground chuck
2 cups raw oats
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tsp chili powder

BBQ Sauce:
2 cups ketchup
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp liquid smoke
1/2 cup chopped onion

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix all ingredients for the meatballs together in large bowl and shape them the size of a walnut. Place on cookie sheets that are covered with aluminum foil.

Mix sauce together and pour evenly over meatballs. Bake 1 hour or until cooked through.

Coconut Chicken Strips and Dipping Sauce

Several weeks ago, a blog I read (Kelly's Korner) did a link up for people to list their favorite dinner recipes. There were so many great ones posted and several that I plan to try, but the first one that caught my attention was a recipe for Coconut Chicken Strips. I am a huge fan of the coconut shrimp and dipping sauce at Red Lobster, so I thought that these might be similar in flavor, but easier to make since the recipe calls for chicken. I was not disappointed. The girls and I loved them. Now, I'll have to be honest and tell you that this wasn't Mike's favorite recipe as he isn't a fan of mixing sweet and savory. The chicken wasn't overly sweet by any means, it was just right for me and if you are a fan of things like this, you will love it!

The dipping sauce made a ton, so you could easily half the recipe listed here and not have so much leftover. I did add extra powdered sugar to mine to give it a hint more sweetness - just taste it as you go to get it to your preferred taste.

I served mine with Rice Pilaf (Rice a Roni Brand), green beans and salad. It was a great combo. Enjoy and if you want to see all those recipes on Kelly's Korner, just click HERE.

Coconut Chicken

12 chicken tenders
1-2 eggs (start with one and crack another if it runs out)
1/2 C flour
1 C sweetened coconut flakes
1 C panko bread crumbs
1 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp onion powder

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Give coconut a rough chop so it's about the same size as the panko pieces.
Combine it with Panko and spices in a shallow dish. Mix well to distribute all of the spices.
Place the flour in another shallow dish, and the egg in another. Give the egg a quick beating.
Working with a few chicken tenders at a time, dredge in flour. Dip in egg, then finally coat in the coconut Panko mixture. Press in with your fingers to make sure the entire thing is well coated.
Place chicken tenders on a foil-lined baking sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. You can drizzle or spray olive oil on top for a crispier tender.
Bake in 450 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until juices run clear. If tenders are on the small side, they could even be done in about 15 minutes. If they're big they can take more like 25. The coconut will be nice and golden and the panko crisp, but light in color still.

Pineapple Dipping Sauce

1 cup yogurt
1 can pineapple tidbits (I used crushed pineapple - small can)
2 Tbsp powdered sugar
1/4 cup sweetened coconut
2 Tbsp coconut milk
Combine all, refrigerate until ready to use.

***Note: I did not use coconut milk - I just added a little extra coconut. She also said that sour cream can be used in place of plain yogurt.