Lazy Chicken Alfredo

 

I usually make this with thin spaghetti noodles. The kids loved it when they were little and I made it often because it was easy and I worked full time. It’s still a family favorite and it’s also a pantry meal, meaning everything you need to make it is in your pantry. I need to do some experimenting to see if I can make it without cooking the noodles first. Stay tuned!!!

Lazy Chicken Alfredo

Ingredients

1 (16oz) bag penne pasta

2 (10oz) cans chicken breast (rinsed and drained)

1 (16oz) jar Alfredo sauce (my favorite brand so far is Ragu)

Salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste

A little bit of milk

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to directions. Drain.

2. In the pot you just used to boil the pasta, add the pasta sauce and chicken. Pour a little bit of milk or half and half into the pasta jar and shake with the lid on to get as much sauce out as possible.  

3. Add the seasonings to taste. Heat up on the stove and mix well.

4. Add the noodles to the sauce and stir until well combined. Enjoy!

Serves 6

Lazy Orange Chicken

 

My son thought this was too “orangy”. LOL I thought it was amazing for how easy it was. Maybe I’ll use a bbq sauce that isn’t so sweet next time since the marmalade is sweet enough on its own. The broccoli in the pic is leftover “broccoli in oyster sauce” from the Chinese food place the other day and the rice is my “baked rice” you can find on this blog. I hope you love it!

Lazy Orange Chicken

Ingredients

1 (25.5 oz) bag of frozen popcorn chicken

1 (18 oz) jar orange marmalade

1 cup bbq sauce

1/2 cup soy sauce

Directions

1.  Cook popcorn chicken as directed on the bag.

2.  Pour the jar of marinade, bbq sauce and soy sauce in a large pan or skillet. Cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes until sauces are melted and well combined. Simmer until chicken is done.

3.  Add cooked chicken to the pan with the sauce. Gently stir until the chicken is completely covered in the sauce.

4.  Serve over rice of your choice and veggie on the side.

Serves 4-6

Lazy Crockpot Pepper Steak

 

This is a long time family favorite. Initially my mom made it on the stove and chopped the green bell peppers and onions. Due to some health issues, I can no longer stand in the kitchen and cook like I used to. So now I make ground beef in large quantities in the crockpot (yes, you put it in raw!) and freeze in one pound amounts in quart size freezer zip baggies to use for later dates. I also buy the bags of frozen chopped peppers/onions and brown gravy packets. The rice is super easy too because it’s baked!! The raw hamburger in the crockpot and baked rice recipes are also on this blog. I hope you enjoy this as much as my family does!  

Lazy Crockpot Pepper Steak

Ingredients

1# cooked hamburger

2 12oz bags frozen 3 pepper and onions

4 packets dry brown gravy mix

Salt, pepper and Italian seasoning to taste

Directions

1. Either brown hamburger on the stove or use some you have frozen. After it’s done, add it to the crockpot.

2.  Open both bags of pepper/onions and add to crock pot.

3. Add the 4 packets of brown gravy to 2 1/2 cups of water and stir. Pour into the crockpot. 

4.  Add salt, pepper and Italian seasoning (I don’t measure).

5.  Stir as best as you can (frozen meat and veggies may be in big clumps and that’s ok). Cook on low for 3 hours. 

6.  Stir to make sure brown gravy is thickened and there’s no clumps. Taste and add more seasonings if needed. 

7.  Serve over cooked rice or noodles. 

Notes

1. You can leave it in the crockpot for longer, just add a little more water.  

2.  If you like it with more gravy, you can add another gravy packet or two.

3.  Also if you need a bigger batch you can easily double this.  

IP Chicken and canned Biscuits

 

Instant Pot Chicken and canned biscuits

RECIPE USING RAW CHICKEN:

3 cups chicken broth (or water)

Two cans cream of chicken soup

Two thick raw chicken breasts

1 can jumbo biscuits

 salt, pepper, thyme, basil

Add chicken, broth/water, soup and seasonings into pot. Do not stir. 

Cook on high pressure for 20 minutes. (If chicken is frozen add 5 min)

5 mins NR then quick release

Open pot, shred chicken to chunks 

Cut each biscuit into 4 pieces

Mix into pot

High pressure 3 minutes. QR

RECIPE FOR COOKED CHICKEN:

2 cooked chicken breasts chopped 

3c water

3 chicken bullion cubes 

2 cans cream of chicken soup 

Basil, thyme, parsley, salt and pepper

1 can of 8 biscuits, each cut into 4’s

Add water and bullion cubes to pot

Dump in chopped chicken 

Dump in both cans of soup

DO NOT STIR

Sprinkle seasonings on top of soup

DO NOT STIR

Cook on high 6 min, quick release

Open lid and dump in biscuits. 

STIR

Reset lid and cook for 3 min and quick release.

Add cooked peas if you like.

Sweet slaw

 

Sweet slaw. 1 bag shredded cabbage with carrots, as much as you want of sun flower seeds and craisins; and half bottle of poppyseed dressing. Oh and a chopped up green onion. Delish!!!

Brats Sheet Pan Meal

l don’t know why I’ve never made a sheet pan meal before but I will definitely be making it again!!! It was soooo easy and tasty! Stay tuned! 

lngredients:

• 
  
  
  ▢ 4-6 uncooked bratwurst or sausage
• ▢ 4-6 potatoes halved or quartered depending on size
• ▢ asparagus with ends trimmed
• ▢ olive oil
• ▢ garlic minced
• ▢ salt
• ▢ black pepper

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Place the brats, potatoes, and asparagus in a large mixing bowl. Add the oil, garlic and salt and pepper. Still until coated. Dump on large baking sheet and spread out evenly. I used tinfoil on top for easy clean up (spray with non-stick spray…I didn’t do this and the potatoes and sausage stick!) Put the baking sheet in the oven.
• Roast for approximately 30-35 minutes, until the brats and the vegetables are hot and lightly browned on the edges.

Notes

1. You don’t really have to have exact measurements for this. I just eyeballed it for the 4 of us. It needed more seasoning. I’ll do more next time for sure.2. Kielbasa or Polish Sausage may be substituted for the brats in this recipe just cut the bigger sausage into smaller sections. This recipe can easily be doubled by using two sheet pans. Rotate the pans halfway through the cooking time if your pans are on different racks. Allow about 10 additional minutes cooking time for a doubled recipe.3. You can use whatever potatoes and veggies you prefer.

Faith’s Taco Salad

I had some leftover cooked hamburger in the freezer so I thought I’d grab a few things at ALDI to make a taco salad. You can use any variety of the items I have listed. I just threw this together and the family loved it! It’s a keeper for sure!

Faith’s Taco Salad

Ingredients:

Shredded iceberg lettuce

Cooked hamburger with taco seasoning (I used fajita seasoning)

Bag of 90 second quinoa/brown rice 

Can of black beans, rinsed

Can of whole corn, drained

Shredded Mexican cheese

Jar of chunky salsa

Bag of nacho cheese flavored Doritos, crushed

Sour cream (I forgot this but it would be delish)

Salad dressing, optional (I used Ranch but French or whatever your favorite would be good too)

Directions:

1. Start with the lettuce and add to your large salad bowl. 

2. Then add some of each thing on top of the lettuce. 

3. Stir and enjoy!

NOTES: I put each item in its own bowl so each person can pick what they want in their own salad. You could also put everything in a large bowl mixed together for a potluck but be aware the Doritos and lettuce will get soggy fast.