Recipes from Facebook week

For the past few months on Facebook people have been posting or liking posts with recipes.  These recipes all look beautiful, delicious, and oh, so easy.  I don't want to "like" the recipes because I don't want a bunch of nonsense on my Facebook page so instead I snap a picture of the recipe and file it away with my photos...just in case.

This last week while staring at a blank piece of paper that would eventually become my grocery list I got the bright idea to do a week of Facebook meals.  I found that I had enough stored in my camera roll on my Ipad to get me through the week, and before I knew it my paper and my refrigerator were full of food items.  Then I got the bright idea to blog about it so I cooked and snapped photos to share with all of you.  We graded each dish from 1-5 with 5 being perfect for a total of 20 points.

Monday - Rotel Chicken Mexican Casserole

• Cooked chicken, diced (I used a rotisserie chicken)
• 1 bag of tortilla chips crushed
• 1 can of Rotel
• 1 can of cream of chicken soup
• 1 lb. of Velveeta cheese (I only used 3/4)

Cook and dice the chicken.  Mix together the Rotel, soup, and cheese in the microwave.  Stir in the chicken.  In a pan layer 1/2 of your chips and 1/2 of the cheese chicken mixture.  Repeat as often as you have stuff (I made two layers with what I had).  End layers with chips on top.  Bake at 350 until hot and bubbly.

I only used 3/4 of the bag of chips, but next time I might use the whole bag.  They get soggy in the dish, but they do add to it.  I served it with a side of black beans, which could easily be put inside the casserole.  I topped it with salsa and sour cream.  Everyone liked it and agreed this recipe is a keeper.  Score: 16 out of 20

Tuesday - Crockpot Taco Soup

• 1 lb. ground beef cooked and drained
• 1 can corn
• 1 can northern beans
• 1 can black beans
• 1 can red beans
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 Hidden Valley Ranch packet
• 1 Taco seasoning packet
• 2 cups water
• Cilantro
• Toppings:  tortilla chips, sour cream, shredded cheese, black olives

Combine all ingredients in the crockpot (except toppings) and cook on low for 6-8 hours or less.  Serve with toppings.  Highly recommend the sour cream, chips, cheese, and extra cilantro.

I loved this soup!  I gave it a five.  Delicious, easy and so full of fiber.  For my family of four we almost ate the whole pot.  Score:  16.5 our of 20 

Wednesday - Cake Cookies 

(For dinner we had chicken Caesar wraps which I didn't get off of a recipe from Facebook, but which were SO GOOD, oh, my gosh!  I'll post that recipe another time.  But in keeping with my plan of Facebook recipes I made a dessert I got from there.)

• 1 box of yellow or white cake mix
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups chocolate chips
• 1 stick of butter melted

Mix together.  Spray a 9X13 pan and pour mixture into pan.  Bake at 350 for10-20 minutes.

I thought these were very dry.  The cake mix itself called for 3 eggs so maybe adding another one might help?  I also added the entire package of chocolate chips and that was a good choice.  We agreed these cookies were better the second day.  Score:  11 out of 20

Thursday - Mini Chicken Pot Pies

• 1/2 cup of Bisquick
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• Cooked chicken diced (again used a rotisserie chicken)
• Frozen mixed vegetables

Mix the first three ingredients and pour a tablespoon in the bottom of each muffin cup.  Add chicken and vegetables into each cup filling 1/4 of the cup.  Top with another tablespoon of the mixture.  Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes.

Okay, this one was different.  First of all, triple the recipe because it isn't enough.  I doubled it and still I think it wasn't enough.  Secondly, use fresh vegetables and fill it more then 1/4 cup.  Thirdly, put more of the mixture into the cups on the bottom and on top.  Lastly, make some type of a gravy to pour on top as it was very dry.  This was not a recipe I would probably make again as I have a decent recipe for pot pies.  Score:  9 out of 20.

Friday - Crockpot Ravioli

I thought the name of this was odd as you don't use ravioli in the recipe.  I also didn't make this in my crockpot as I thought that odd too.  I made this recipe on the stove in a big pot.

1 lbs. lean ground beef

onion chopped

garlic, minced

1 can tomato sauce

1 jar of spaghetti sauce (I added this to the recipe because I didn't think one can of sauce would be enough.  I'm glad I did.)

1 can diced tomatoes

Italian seasoning

1 package of frozen spinach or fresh spinach

1 box of bowtie pasta, cooked

1/2 cup parmesan cheese shredded

1 1/2 cup mozzarella, shredded

Cook the beef and onions and garlic in a pot.  Add sauce, tomatoes and seasonings and simmer for an hour.  Boil pasta and add to the sauce, stirring.  Add the spinach and cheeses and stir.  Serve with salad and garlic bread.

I didn't get a picture of this so I took it off of the recipe.  I will say it was scrumptious.  I thought it would be a lot like spaghetti or baked ziti, but it really didn't turn out that way.  We devoured almost the entire pot.  Score:  16 our to 20.

Saturday - One Dish Chicken

4 chicken breasts

1.5 lbs. of cubed red potatoes

Fresh green beans, zucchini or squash

1 package of Italian seasoning dressing

1 stick of butter, cubed

Put the chicken in the middle of a 9x13 baking dish.  Put the potatoes and vegetables (I used green beans) around the sides of the chicken.  Season with salt and pepper.  Sprinkle the Italian dressing packet over everything and top with cubes of butter (1 stick was probably too much and you could cut this down).  Cover with foil and back at 350 for one hour.

This dish was my favorite of all of them!  The girls and I gave it 5's.  Tom, who ate it several hours later after it had been in the refrigerator, gave it a 4.  You don't need all that butter, but the seasoning and butter combined made the chicken moist and the everything lip smackin' tasty.  Score:  19 out of 20.

Sunday - Doughnut Muffins

Sunday is football for me and when the Steelers play I go to my buddy's house to watch with him.  He made chili for the game so I decided to make these muffins that were suppose to taste like doughnuts without the frying for everyone for breakfast before I left.

1 3/4 cup flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil

3/4 cup white sugar

1 egg

3/4 cup milk

Combine dry ingredients.  Mix liquid ingredients in a bowl.  Add liquids to dry and mix well.  Spoon the mixture into greased muffin tins (I used holders).  Bake at 350 for 20 - 25 minutes.  While the muffins are baking, mix 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 1/4 tsp cinnamon together.  When the muffins are hot, dip into melted butter and roll into sugar mixture.

First of all, I forgot the melted butter part and wondered why the sugar didn't stick.  Duh.  I put one of these in my mouth, chewed, and promptly spit it directly into the trashcan.  The WORST things I have ever tasted.  Something had to be left out of these ingredients.  Oh, gawd.  Darcy spit her bite out too, but Madison nibbled on one for awhile before declaring it nasty.  Tom, unsuspecting, ate the most of one and then declared that he was not interested in another.  Score: 4 out of 20, and that is only because zero wasn't a choice.