Homemade Salsa

Ingredients:

1 can (28 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes With Juice

2 cans (10 Ounce) Rotel (diced Tomatoes And Green Chilies)

1/4 cup Chopped Onion

1 clove Garlic, Minced

1 whole Jalapeno, Quartered And Sliced Thin

1/4 teaspoon Sugar

1/4 teaspoon Salt

1/4 teaspoon Ground Cumin

1/2 cup Cilantro (more To Taste!)

1/2 whole Lime Juice

Instructions:

Note: this is a very large batch. Recommend using a 12-cup food processor, or you can process the ingredients in batches and then mix everything together in a large mixing bowl.

Combine whole tomatoes, Rotel, onion, jalapeno, garlic, sugar, salt, cumin, lime juice, and cilantro in a blender or food processor. Pulse until you get the salsa to the consistency you'd like---I do about 10 to 15 pulses. Test seasonings with a tortilla chip and adjust as needed.

Refrigerate salsa for at least an hour. Serve with tortilla chips or cheese nachos.

*I accidentally bought a 28oz can of crushed tomatoes and it still turned out great.

**Our family likes things on the spicy side, so I used two cans of Hot Rotel. 

Fish Tacos

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups Lawry baja chipotle marinade, with lime juice (R)

1 1/2 lbs cod or 1 1/2 lbs other firm white fish fillets

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup sour cream

12 soft taco-size corn tortillas, warmed

2 cups green cabbage, shredded

Instructions:

Place fish in a large baking dish or resealable plastic bag, pour 3/4 cup Lawry's Baja (r) Chipotle Marinade with Lime Juice over the fish.

Marinate in refrigerator about 30 minutes in covered dish or sealed plastic bag.

Preheat the oven to 450.

Remove fish from dish or bag and discard marinade.

Bake fish for 10-12 minutes and baste with 1/4 cup Baja Chipotle Marinade. Turn fish once and cook until fish flakes easily with a fork.

While fish is cooking, combine mayonnaise, sour cream, and remaining 2-4 tablespoons of marinade in a small bowl.

To serve place fish in tortillas, using two tortillas for each taco, top with shredded cabbage and drizzle with sauce.

Liter Cajun Chicken Pasta

Ingredients:

6 lean boneless skinless chicken breast halves (4 ounces each)

3/4 tbsp Cajun seasoning of choice, divided

2-1/4 c uncooked whole wheat penne pasta

1 large onion, chopped

2-3 tsp olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced or 2 tsp preminced

1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes, drained

1/4 tsp pepper

1-1/2 c half-and-half cream or milk

Instructions:

Rub chicken breast halves each with ¼ tablespoon of Cajun seasoning. Lightly

coat the grill with olive oil using a basting brush. Grill chicken, covered, over

medium heat or broil 4 in. from the heat for 4-7 minutes on each side or until

cooked throughout with no pink.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, cook pasta according to package directions. In

a Dutch oven coated with cooking spray, sauté onion in oil until crisp-tender. Add garlic and remaining Cajun seasoning; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in tomatoes and pepper.

Drain pasta; add to the onion mixture. Stir in cream; heat through (do not boil).

Serve chicken with pasta. 

* I grilled the chicken in a George Foreman grill.

What's for Dinner

Monday- Liter Cajun Chicken Pasta
Tuesday- Fish Tacos and Homemade Salsa
Wednesday- Pizza
Thursday- 
Friday- 
Saturday- Burritos 
Sunday- SuperBowl

Chicken Pot Pie

This is a very good healthier version of chicken pot pie.  It was really easy to put together and wasn't very time consuming.  Everyone gave it two thumbs up!

Chicken Pot Pie

Yield: 8

Ingredients:

1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins or breasts

1 can fat free, low sodium chicken broth

2 tsp of butter buds flavoring

Pinch of celery salt

Pinch of onion powder

Salt and pepper to taste

1 c sweet peas (can use with pearl onions if desired)

1 c cooked tender carrots (try the steam bag option)

1 can reduced fat cream of chicken

1 can reduced fat cream of mushroom

1 can low fat biscuits

Instructions:

Boil chicken in broth. Add butter buds flavoring and the rest of the seasonings

listed above.

When chicken is fully cooked, take it out of broth and dice or shred into small

pieces.

In large baking dish, combine about 1 cup of chicken broth, diced chicken, peas,

carrots, cream of chicken and mushroom soups.

Mix all ingredients thoroughly and then top evenly with raw biscuits. Bake at

375 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until biscuits are fully cooked.

* I ended up baking mine for 20 minutes uncovered and then an additional 10-15 minutes covered. The bottom of the biscuits took a lot longer to get done than the tops. 

** I used a 12oz frozen bag of mixed vegetables (corn, peas, carrots & green beans) instead of the peas and carrots the recipe called for.  I cooked the vegetables according to the package and then combined them with the chicken and soups. 

***A serving is one biscuit plus the filling.  It was actually 5 servings for us, the guys each had two biscuits. 

What's for Dinner

Monday- Chicken Pot Pie
Tuesday- Buffalo Chicken Baked Wraps
Wednesday- Taco Casserole
Thursday- Pizza Soup
Friday- Pizza
Saturday- Out (Farmerville)
Sunday- Wings and Oven Baked Fries

Roasted Garlic Brussels Sprouts

Roasted Garlic Brussels Sprouts

Yield: 6 servings

The best garlic brussels sprouts ever, made with garlic and crisp bacon goodness!

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon honey

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, divided

2 pounds brussels sprouts, halved

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 slices bacon, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Try Swanson® Veggie Broth in this Recipe.

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet or coat with nonstick spray.

In a small bowl, whisk together honey and 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar; set aside.

Place brussels sprouts in a single layer onto the prepared baking sheet. Add remaining 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, olive oil, bacon and garlic; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Gently toss to combine.

Place into oven and bake for 12-14 minutes, or until tender. Stir in honey mixture.

Serve immediately.

Salmon Patties

Salmon Patties

Yield: 3-4 

Ingredients:

1 can Alaskan Salmon

2 free range eggs

1 tbsp olive oil

1/4 of an onion, chopped

15-18 small-medium whole grain crackers, crumbled

Instructions:

1. Place all ingredients into a bowl and mix together.

2. Form into patties.

3. Cook 5 minutes on each side in cooking pan

Cashew Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Cashew Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients:

3 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce

3 tbsp honey

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken strips, cut into 3/4-inch pieces

black pepper and salt to taste

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or 2 tsp pre minced

1 tbsp grated ginger

1 8-ounce can sliced water chestnuts, drained

1/4 c roasted unsalted cashews

½ head of romaine lettuce leaves, washed and separated

Instructions:

1. Combine the soy sauce and honey in a small bowl. Set aside.

2. Season the chicken with black pepper and salt. Place in a skillet and cook over medium high heat, stirring occasionally, until it begins to brown, about 5-10 minutes.

3. Lower heat to medium and stir in the garlic and ginger.

4. Stir in the water chestnuts and half the soy sauce mixture. Continue cooking until the chicken is cooked through. Remove from heat and sprinkle with the cashews.

5. Divide the lettuce leaves among plates and spoon the chicken over the top. Serve with the remaining soy sauce mixture for drizzling.

What's for Dinner

Monday- Supper Club
Tuesday- Cashew Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Wednesday- Skillet Baked Ziti with Sausage
Thursday- Salmon Patties & Roasted Garlic Brussels Sprouts
Friday- Chili Dogs
Saturday- Date Night
Sunday- Stuffed Salmon Fillets and Easy Addicting Corn

Varner Everyday 2015 Week 1

Our first week in January was an eventful one!

On Thursday we went to the Dillard's sale and it was crazy!  I tried to warn Brian how it would be, but he didn't believe how crazy women can get when it comes to a good sale. 

Our first run together in the new year...it was cold. 

I was so sad to take down all my Christmas decorations. :(

Since I took down the Christmas decorations, I had to put up the next holiday decor...Valentine's Day. 

On Monday, while I was watching the Bachelor everyone else was in Drew's room watching Brian play Final Fantasy.

On Tuesday, we got our wedding video!!!! Hitched film did such a wonderful job capturing the day for us.

The low's this week have been in the low 20's, why not eat our favorite ice cream!

Friday night Drew had a friend over so we played Bean Boozle. If you've never heard of this game, the premise is you spin to find out which color jelly bean you get to eat.  The catch is it will either be a good tasting one or a horrible one. For instance, if you land on orange it could be peach or barf! This game is a lot of fun, if you can handle the horrible flavors.

Enchilada Burritos

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef

1 (1-oz) package taco seasoning

2/3 cup water

1 can Rotel tomatoes, drained

1 (10-12 oz) can enchilada sauce

8 (7-8 inch) flour tortillas

2 cups shredded Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese

sour cream

lettuce

tomatoes

Instructions: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook beef in large skillet over medium high heat until meat is browned, stirring until crumbled; drain fat and return to skillet. Stir taco seasoning, water and Rotel in to beef. Cook 10 minutes.

Spread approximately 1/4 cup meat mixture onto each tortilla; top with 2 Tbsp cheese. Roll up tortillas, place, seam side down, into 9x13 pan. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Pour enchilada sauce over tortillas. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.  Serve with sour cream, lettuce and tomatoes.

What's For Dinner

Monday- Lasagna
Tuesday- Enchilada Burrittos
Wednesday- Mexican Dorito Casserole
Thursday- Stacked Enchiladas
Friday- Homemade Pizza
Saturday- Country Fried Steak
Sunday- BBQ

**This is our fat week. Next Monday starts the weight loss challenge at work, so we wanted to get all our favorite not so healthy foods out of our system. :) 

Buffalo Chicken Pillows

Ingredients:

1 (3 oz) package cream cheese, softened

2 cup chopped cooked chicken

3 Tbsp buffalo sauce (Frank's)

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 can refrigerated crescent rolls

1 Tbsp butter, melted

1/3 cup crushed Cheez-Its

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine cream cheese and buffalo sauce; stir in chicken and cheddar cheese. Set aside.

Unroll crescent dough, separating into 4 rectangles; press perforations to seal. Spoon 1/4 of chicken mixture into center of each rectangle; bring corners of each rectangle together over chicken mixture, and twist gently to seal.

Brush packets with 1 tablespoon of melted butter; dredge in crushed Cheez-Its and place on an ungreased baking sheet.

 Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Nachos

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef

1 packet of taco seasoning

1 bag of tortilla chips

2 Cups of shredded cheese

Chopped onion

Chopped tomato

Sour Cream

Jalapenos

Instructions:

Brown the ground beef in a skillet. 

Once cooked, drain off the fat and place back in the skillet.  Add the taco seasoning and water to the beef and cook according to the package.

Place the chips on a baking sheet lined with foil.  Add the meat on top of the chips.  Spread the cheese on top of the meat and place in the oven.  Broil until the cheese is melted.

Top with your favorite toppings.

Goals for 2015

1. To stay organized 
2. To stick with a cleaning schedule (I'm so bad at this)
3. To document our life better (#varnereveryday2015)