Swedish Meatballs

1 package of noodles (I used the no yolk egg noodles)
½ bag of original style meatballs (in the freezer section)
1 can of beef broth
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 cups of heavy whipping cream
2 heaping teaspoons of sour cream.
Season with salt and pepper and top with parsley

Boil and drain noodles. While noodles are cooking, brown meatballs in a deep skillet. Add beef broth and Worcestershire sauce and let simmer. Add heavy whipping cream and sour cream. Let sauce cook and sour cream melt. Add in cooked noodles and mix well to combine. Season with salt and pepper and top with parsley.

Pasta Con Broccoli

If you’ve ever had Pasta con Broccoli from The Pasta House restaurant, it is pretty similar. I just added bacon because I needed to use it up.

1 lb farfalle pasta (or pasta of your choice)
6-8 slices of bacon diced
I added 3-4 sliced mushrooms and fresh broccoli florets for extra veggies
½ tsp minced garlic
1 cup chicken broth
¼ cup of heavy whipping cream
½ cup parmesan cheese, grated
Crushed red pepper flake
1 can of petite diced tomatoes (I used the kind with garlic, olive oil and basil)

Boil and drain pasta. While pasta is cooking, dice bacon, slice mushrooms and steam broccoli. Add bacon to pan. Drain bacon grease as needed. While bacon is cooking, add mushrooms and garlic. Cook until soft. Pour chicken broth over mushroom, bacon mixture. Let it boil. Add broccoli and let it cook. Turn down heat to medium low and add heavy whipping cream. I decided to add tomatoes last minute. You can add tomatoes to chicken broth if you would like. Season with crushed red pepper flake to taste. We like things spicy, so I added quite a bit. Pour sauce into drained pasta. Stir to incorporate all pasta with sauce. Top with grated parmesan cheese and enjoy.

Taco Tater Tot Casserole

½ bag of frozen tater tots
½ package of cooked ground hamburger
1 can of rotel
½ can of red enchilada sauce
¼ cup of frozen corn.
1 cup of shredded Mexican cheese

I cooked my browned hamburger, corn and rotel on low in crockpot during the day. 5-6 hours. I added enchilada sauce for more flavor. Preheat oven to 375. Place tater tots in baking dish. Reserve 8-12 for the topping. Pour meat corn and sauce mixture on top of tater tots. Add more tater tots and rest of enchilada sauce. Cover with shredded cheese and bake 20-30 minutes. Check to make sure cheese and tots don’t burn. I topped mine with some already made queso, sour cream and chopped green onions.

Tequila Lime Chicken Pasta

Marinated cooked chicken (I had a little more than half of a breast of Tequila Lime Chicken cut into thin strips)
½ onion diced
1 jalapeno diced, stems and seeds removed
¼ colored peppers cut into strips (I used red, yellow and orange)
1 lime
Handful of fresh cilantro cut or dried is fine too
1 teaspoon of minced garlic
1 cup chicken stock
2-4 tablespoons of tequila (I used 4)
3 tablespoons of soy sauce
2 tablespoons lime juice
4 pats of butter
1 ½ cups of heavy whipping cream
16 oz spinach fettucini (I used linguini because it’s all I could find)
Boil pasta until al dente. Drain and set aside. In a separate pan add garlic, half cilantro, jalapeno and onion with 1 tablespoon of butter. When onion and jalapeno start to get soft, add broth, tequila and lime juice. Crank up heat to high to let alcohol reduce. In another pan sauté peppers and one tablespoon of butter. I added diced mushrooms and a handful of frozen corn too. Let the veggies get soft. Add sliced chicken and soy sauce. Turn down heat on tequila, broth and lime juice mixture. Let it thicken and add whipping cream. Add peppers and chicken to sauce. Toss with cooked pasta. Top with fresh squeezed lime and rest of cilantro. It’s like a smoky, fajita kick with pasta and cream. So good!

Jalapeno Popper Pork Chops

6-8 boneless pork chops (I usually make 6, but if you want more meat, 8 is a good number)
2 packets of ranch seasoning (I used 1 1/2, but I do not want you to run out halfway through)
Olive oil
Topping
1 jalapeno diced, stems and seeds removed
½ cup shredded cheese
½ packet of ranch seasoning
½ bar of cream cheese softened
2 heaping spoonfuls of sour cream
1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
Crumbled bacon or bacon bits

Saute pork chops in olive oil and ranch seasoning. Front and back sides of the meat. I seared mine in a grill pan until the grill marks were evident on both sides. Preheat oven to 350. While pork chops are cooking, mix topping in a bowl. (I totally cheated and had a jalapeno cheeseball for a party that wasn’t going to be eaten in time) I cut it in half, froze the rest and spread a thin layer on the grilled pork chops. I wanted potatoes with my pork chops. So I quartered red potatoes and boiled them while meat was cooking. Drain potatoes and mix olive oil and ranch seasoning. Add potatoes to baking dish with pork and bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes. Top potatoes with cheddar cheese and bake at 425 until cheese is melted. It’s really good when the topping mixes with the potatoes.

Christmas Soup

1 can petite diced tomatoes with garlic, basil and olive oil
1 can petite diced tomatoes with green chiles (Rotel)
½ lb Velveeta cut into slices
4 cups vegetable or chicken stock (I used Chicken because it is what I had)
1 cup sour cream
1 12 oz box tricolor rotini
I wanted extra veggies so I chopped up broccoli, carrots and cauliflower (slightly steamed)

I planned to cook this on the stovetop, but as our plans for the day changed, I used the crockpot. Add broth and both can of tomatoes. Let tomatoes soften, whisk in sour cream. Mix well and add Velveeta. Cook on high for 1 hour. You can add pasta to crockpot, but my noodles got too mushy and soft for my taste. I recommend cooking the noodles, draining and adding to soup mixture. I added my veggies and mixed well. Cook on low until cheese is melted. Top with crushed red pepper flakes and basil. It looks like Christmas and tastes like a warm bowl of queso with noodles.

Crockpot French Onion Pork Chops and Stuffing

6-8 boneless pork chops (I usually make 6, but there is not enough for leftovers and my kids ask for more meat. 8 is a good number)
1 can of beef broth (I use the low sodium kind)
Lipton Recipe Secrets (Onion soup) one packet
1 box of Stove Top stuffing (Ive used chicken flavor and the herbs kind) I like chicken best.
6-8 slices of Swiss cheese

You can saute mushrooms and sliced onions and top the pork with those if you want. It depends how much time I have. Add frozen pork chops to crockpot, cover with beef broth. Add soup mix. Cook on low all day in crockpot. 8-10 hours depending on your schedule. Preheat oven to 400. Cook stove top stuffing according to box. Layer cooked stuffing in baking dish. Add pork chops. Top with Swiss cheese. Bake 15-20 minutes until cheese is melted. That’s it! It tastes similar to French Onion soup, but has the meat my husband asks for.
(I sautéed some chopped Brussel sprouts in bacon and parmesan with olive oil, and salt and pepper. You can make anything as a side. This is just what is in the picture with the meal.)

Beef Enchiladas

This used to be one of my go to meals. I forgot how good they were until recently. I made a pan for my neighbor when she had her baby and her little girl told me, “I could work at a Mexican restaurant.” That’s kind of my feelings about this dish. Why go out when you can make it at home? Plus we have leftovers for days.

1/2 lb ground beef cooked
1 /2 cup frozen sweet corn
1 can Rotel
1 packet of taco seasoning (You can make your own too)
1 can Red Enchilada Sauce
Tortillas ( I used 1 pack of 12 and 6 from another package
1-2 cups shredded Mexican cheese (depending how much cheese you like)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown ground beef in skillet until meat is cooked through. Add taco seasoning and water as listed on package. Mix well to coat seasoning evenly. Add frozen corn and Rotel to meat mixture. Stir well. Let tomatoes and corn cook and sauce to simmer. Add a handful of shredded cheese to thicken sauce. Spoon meat mixture into individual tortillas. Roll and fold in edges. Place seam side down in large baking dish. (You can pour sauce into bottom of pan before placing rolled enchiladas on top. My family thinks they get too soggy this way) I add shredded cheese to cover all rolled enchiladas and then pour enchilada sauce on top. Bake in oven 20-30 minutes. I like to cover with foil and freeze for easy dinners on busy nights. I make Mexican rice and top with sour cream. It is such an easy recipe and makes for great leftovers.

Breakfast smoothie

I am so not a breakfast person, I always joke and say, “Let’s just skip to lunch.” I could honestly just have coffee and be fine, but I find myself way too hungry hours before lunch. Also, forget about trying to work out or have much energy before eating something. So my go to has been smoothies. I make these packets ahead of time. Depending on how many “bags” you want to make.

1 bag fresh spinach
5-6 fresh bananas cut in half
Fresh pineapple cut into pieces

I make a variety of these, sometimes they have fresh blueberries, strawberries, or even peaches too. It just depends what we have on hand or what is in season. Place fruit of your choice with spinach and bananas in bags and freeze. When you want to make your smoothie just dump the bag in the blender with a handful of ice cubes, ½ cup of juice of your choice (Pineapple juice is my favorite, but minute maid fruit punch and even orange juice is fine too) I add a Greek yogurt cup (usually strawberry) and sometimes half of an avocado. Just blend and enjoy. It’s an easy fix for busy mornings. Plus my kids like them too!

Crockpot Cheeseburger soup

This is not the greatest picture. It is before I added the half and half, but I was in a hurry.

1/2 lb ground beef (I had some cooked and in freezer)
Potatoes (I used what was left of a bag of potatoes O’Brien probably about 1-1/2 cups)
½ onion diced (onion is in potatoes O’Brien, so I didn’t add this)
3-4 strips of fresh red and green pepper, diced (included in potatoes O’Brien, so didn’t add)

5-6 carrots chopped
3 cups chicken broth
½ block cream cheese cut into cubes
1-2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
Velveeta (I used a can of Campbells cheese soup)
1 Hidden Valley Ranch packet
Cayenne pepper to taste (We like things spicy so I added this)
2-3 heaping spoonfuls of sour cream
1 qt Half and Half
Crumbled, cooked bacon
Green onions for garnish
Garlic Salt and black Pepper
You can make this on the stovetop too, but I needed an easy soup that could cook during the day. So I chose the crockpot. Normally, I sautee my carrots, onions and peppers ahead of time. I was planning on having this cook on low 8+hours so I skipped this step. Add cooked hamburger, potatoes O’Brien, carrots, ranch packet, cream cheese, cheese soup and chicken broth to crockpot. Let cook on low 6-8 hours or on high 4-6 hours. Stirring as you can (I was at work, so stirring wasn’t really an option) I made sure to mix everything really well before I left and then I added half and half. When I got home from work I added salt, pepper and cayenne pepper to taste. I already had cooked bacon on hand. If you don’t make sure you cook your bacon while soup is cooking. Top with the shredded cheese, sour cream, bacon crumbles and green onions.