Zatarain's & Kielbasa

I consider this a Ghetto Night Meal. It's too good not to mention though.

For some reason, I didn't take pics of it.  I guess when you only have 2 ingredients, it doesn't really seem like it deserves attention as a home cooked meal...but then I eat it and kick myself for not giving it the recognition it so truly needs.

So here's what I do.

I take a box of Zatarain's Black Beans & Rice

and a kielbasa sausage.

You slice up the kielbasa and pan fry it until it's just a little browned.  Then you dump the Zatarain's & some water (I think it's 2 1/2 cups....whatever the box says) in on top of it. Bring it to a boil, reduce heat & simmer for 25 minutes.

Done.

I promise to take a picture of it next time. 

This whole meal costs about $4.50 to make and it is SO filling!

Tangy Chicken

This is one of my all time favorite chicken dishes. My mom used to make it all the time growing up and now I make it for my family...and friends...and random dinner guests. In fact, I went through a phase where I made this ALL the time. My husband started to dislike having people over for dinner because I always made the same thing....Tangy Chicken. OK, not really, but he did forbid me from making it for a while.  I went a good year without making it and it was SO worth the wait (although I am NOT going another year without. That's just crazy).

So here it is.  It's the easiest recipe ever.

Ingredients:

6 chicken breasts (or thighs), 1 pkg onion soup mix, 1 can whole cranberry sauce, 1 small bottle Russian dressing, 1 jar (about 18oz) pineapple apricot preserves

This makes 4-6 servings depending on how hungry you are.  Chicken breasts make those servings a little bigger.

Preheat the oven to 350.

Place the chicken into a shallow baking dish.

Next you mix up the sauce.

Take the cranberries and add the dressing....

...the preserves...

...and the onion soup mix...

Then all you do is pour it over the chicken and pop it in the oven.

Bake it for about 90 minutes.

This will make your house smell absolutely divine. It's pure torture waiting while it bakes.

But let me tell you, when it's done... Oh. My. Gosh.

Serve it over some white rice & make sure you drizzle the sauce over it all.

Oh, sweet deliciousness.

 I could eat this everyday and not get tired of it (obviously).

:)

Moo Shu Pork & Mock Mandarin Pancakes

This is a new recipe for me.  It's from one of my (many!!) Pampered Chef cookbooks.

Ingredients:

5 green onions, 1 (8oz) can sliced water chestnuts, 1/2 cup hoisin sauce, vegetable oil, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 2 eggs, 8 (6in) flour tortillas, 2 boneless pork chops, 2 tbsp sesame seeds, 2-3 cups cole slaw mix (I made my own with cabbage & carrots)

Makes 4 servings

For some reason I never remember to put oil in my ingredient pics...so yeah, there should be some vegetable oil.

First you want to thinly slice the green onions.  Reserve a bit for garnishing if you want.

Coarsely chop the water chestnuts.  I used my food chopper again to make it easier.

Mix the hoisin sauce, 2 tsp of oil, soy sauce & sesame seeds in a bowl.

Set all of that to the side. Next you want to make the pancakes.

Heat some oil in a skillet...or just spray it with cooking spray. Just make sure it's nice and greased up.

Lightly beat the 2 eggs in a coating tray of cake pan.

Dip a tortilla in the egg (both sides)

Toss it in the pan.  Let it cook for about 15-20 seconds per side, until the egg is cooked & it's nice and brown.

Do that with the rest of your tortillas.  Keep them warm. (I just put them on a plate, covered them with a dish towel and set them in the microwave).

Cook the pork & prepare the filling.

Flatten the pork with the toothed end of a meat tenderizer.

Slice the chops into 1/4in strips.

Toss it in a skillet until no longer pink.

Add the green onions...

And the water chestnuts...

And the slaw mix...

and the sauce...

Mix it all up and let it cook for another 2-3 minutes.

The rest is easy. Heat up the pancakes (about 30 sec in the microwave) and then put

some of the filling in them.

Done.

(I apologize for the lack of sharpness in the pic.  I could not, for the life of me. get a clear pic. Sorry.)

They were outstanding. You never know that you were eating tortillas....the egg coating completely changes the texture and taste.  The filling was amazing. I had to take a pic while I was eating...

2 was more than enough. I served a bunch of fresh cantaloupe as a side...complemented it perfectly.

This recipe was SO easy and dang was it good. The kids loved it as well.

MAKE THIS. You won't regret it, I promise.