Baked Oatmeal

I have no idea where I first came across this recipe but I have been interested to try it for a couple months now. Today I had a kiddo with a cold and was looking for something quick and warm for dinner, "but not soup", because the sicky didn't want soup. I found this great recipe for Baked Oatmeal on Mel's Kitchen Cafe blog and gave it a shot!

I took her advice, perused the comments for additional ideas, used her exact recipe and sprinkled cinnamon all over the top before baking! We had canned peaches, so I used that.

I have to say, I loved it warm out of the oven with the peaches. I also liked it reheated, and I really liked it cold! Cold was a lot like a cookie or granola bar...I did not put milk on mine. My husband tried it both warm with peaches and a little milk, and cold, and liked it both ways. One of our kiddos only liked it with milk, and kind of a real oatmeal-y consistency. The little sicky didn't like it much, but I blame the cold. *smile
We'll use this recipe again, but we'll half it next time. It is really filling, and there's a lot of leftovers!  

Tomato Chicken Pasta

This was our Sunday dinner tonight, along with the biscuits from the previous post. My husband saw this type of meal on a commercial and recreated it with what he thought would taste good. I had him type up the instructions below! YUM!

Olive Oil
Butter
2 chicken breasts
montreal chicken seasoning
bell peppers (we use a frozen mixed bag of green, yellow and red pepper strips)
16 oz tomato sauce
brown sugar
Italian spices
shredded parmesan
sour cream
12 oz cooked pasta

Put 4 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter in a pan over medium high heat. (Put the butter and oil into a cold pan and let it heat and melt as the pan warms up on the burner. Allow the butter to start to brown and get a nutty smell.) Cut two good size chicken breasts into about 1 inch chunks. Toss the the raw chicken chunks in Montreal Chicken Seasoning, about 3 to 4 Tablespoons.

Cook the chicken until it is all just turning white. Toss in about one cup of chopped bell pepper, either frozen or fresh, and cook until all of the liquid that will leech out from the chicken and the bell peppers cooks away. Saute the chicken and bell peppers until the chicken starts to brown.

Then add about 16 ounces of tomato sauce (or one can). Also add 3 tablespoons of brown sugar and any Italian seasons that you may like. Turn the heat down to medium and allow to simmer for a few minutes until the sauce gets a little thicker. Add about 4 tablespoons of shredded parmesan and 4 tablespoons of sour cream. Stir in to combine. Add 12 ounces of cooked pasta (penne, spirals, shells, or whatever). Stir in to combine and coat all of the noodles with the sauce. Serve immediately with more parmesan if needed.

Biscuits!

When I began making dinner last night my daughter asked if I knew how to make "dinner rolls". That is her favorite part of school lunch and is always quite envious when she misses out on "dinner rolls" (my kids usually take their lunch from home). I told her I don't think I've ever actually tried to make rolls (other than Rhodes freezer rolls) but that I had just read a recipe for biscuits I wanted to try...would that work? lol!

I found the recipe and instructions HERE. I followed them exactly as she said, including using my food processor (which frankly, I am scared of, and have used one other time, LOL!) and mixing the egg and milk in the measuring cup. I used half butter and half shortening, just as she recommends. I even used a big heart-shaped cookie cutter, because that's what I had with sharp edges...except that then I used a knife on what was left, rather than kneading it again.

Mine turned out like this:

They were light, flaky and delicious, and my son asked if I'd make a whole batch just for him. Sounds like a keeper to me!

Its a Wrap!

That's what I think every time my son asks for this meal....which was rather a lot over the recent school break. hee hee... A few months ago, my husband decided that our son should be tired of pbj sandwiches and made something unique for lunch one day, and now its a hit! He's had this meal quite a bit, and in the last week or so found out the ingredients in the sauce, and was more than a little horrified! This child is the most picky eater in the family. So you know if he loves it, it must be good!

First, you make the sauce:

1 spoonful miracle whip
2 drops hot sauce
drizzle honey
1 small squirt mustard
Chop up one pickle slice, into little minced bits, put it all together and mix it up!

Then, we typically have flour tortillas on hand, and then whatever deli meat and cheese we have. Today's selection is turkey and provolone. Spread the sauce onto the tortilla, lay the meat and cheese how you like, roll it up and enjoy!

and I have to say it again, that's a wrap! hee hee!

**Edited to add: When my husband makes it, he adds some lettuce before rolling it all up.