The Certifiable Wench Bakes: Zucchini, Cheddar, Chive Bread

Its zucchini season again and we are faced with an abundance of zucchini in my garden.  I found this fabulous recipe for a savory zucchini bread at A Pretty Life and my sister loves it. I've made it for her 2 times already.

Its a very simple recipe and it comes out perfectly every time.

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 1/2 tspbaking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup melted butter
• 1 shredded cheddar cheese 
• 2 tbsp chopped chives  (fresh or dried..I've used Lighthouse Dried Chives and they are fabulous)
• 1 cup shredded zucchini (You definitely want to squeeze out as much of the moisture out as possible)

Instruction

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and egg.
4. Whisk the melted butter into the buttermilk mixture.
5. Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mix, and gently combine. Don't over mix the batter.
6. Stir in the shredded cheese, shredded zucchini and chopped chives.
7.  Grease your 9x5 bread pan. I like to use baker's joy on mine

The Certifiable Wenches Easy Kung Pao Meatballs

I am always looking for dinners that come together in an hour or less, cos that's how I roll. I'm lazy, but I like good food.

I'm also usually on a budget and I feed 4 people, so there needs to be enough.

I wanted something different and I had some meatballs. (This time the Sam's Club Angus meatballs, but whatever frozen meatballs you have will work)

Here's what I came up with for this super easy, and super tasty dinner


Ingredients:
1 bottle Panda Express Kung Pao Sauce
1 large green pepper chopped in chunks
1 medium onion chopped in large chunks
1 jar of chunk pineapple and about half the juice
1 large container of fresh sliced mushrooms
1 can 8 oz of water chestnuts


Directions
Saute onion and pepper until both are soft and onions translucent.
Add sauce, meatballs, water chestnuts and pineapple w/juice and give a stir.
Cover cook for 20 - 25 minutes.
Add mushrooms and cook an additional 5 minutes
Serve over rice and enjoy!

Golden Chicken Pasta

I love trying new recipes and one of my favorite shows on Food Network is The Kitchen. Its real and its fun and I've found some great recipes on the show.

Last week had a slow cooker recipe from the lady that created the famous Mississippi Roast recipe. (That roast is seriously the best you will ever make and its so easy)

Here is a link to Robin Chapman's recipe.

When I made it, I tweaked it just a little because the ingredients are loaded with sodium and my mom needs to cut down on the salt. Plus this recipe does feed a small army. None of the tweaks I made altered Robin's original. I just pared it down a bit.


Here's how I did it.

I sauteed 16 oz of mushrooms the night before in a little bit of olive oil and then I added about a cup of chicken broth (the original recipe calls for 1 cup of veg broth). You let them get all nice and brown and beautiful. Then let them cool and stick them in the fridge.

The next morning.

I cut up two chicken breasts which were about 2 lbs into cubes.

Then added 2 cans of Golden Mushroom soup, 1 8 oz carton of onion and chive cream cheese 1 packet of Italian dressing mix,  The chicken and then mushrooms as well as some freshly ground pepper.

Gave it a little stir and turned it on low.

That's 8 hours (probably longer) and I served over buttered wide egg noodles.

It was a real winner and it served 4 with leftovers made as I did. When there isn't a complaint among us, I know this is a recipe to save. When its a chicken recipe and my mother loves it, that's a huge bonus.

Recipe: Lazy Girl's Baked Ziti

When my youngest nephew comes for supper he always asks for pasta.

Any pasta will do.

He isn't picky, but I can only eat so much spaghetti before I go nuts.

I decided I wanted to go with baked ziti, but I didn't want to go the route of ricotta etc. So I scoured the internet.

I found two recipes that had alfredo sauce instead of ricotta. In one you mixed the alfredo and the spaghetti sauce together and the other had you coat the pasta with alfredo. The later was the recipe I decided to use.

Its easy and has minimal ingredients and 5 out of 6 people loved it (You can't please everyone)

Ingredients
1 lb ground meat
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
1 jar alfredo sauce
1 lb of ziti pasta
1 1/2 cups of Italian Cheese Blend or Mozarella or a combination of both


Directions:
1 Prepare pasta according to package directions
2 Drain pasta and place in 9x13 baking dish. Pour alfredo over the pasta and toss to coat.
3. Brown the ground meat and drain. Return to pan and pour the spaghetti sauce over the meat and warm.
4. Pour meat mixture over the noodles and top with cheese.
5. Cover and cook @ 350 for 30 minutes

Green Bean and Sausage in the Slow Cooker

I love quick and easy slow cooker meals and you don't get much easier than this.

We love boiled dinners in our house, with ham, cabbage and all sorts of other veggies. This is very much like it only with smoke sausage. I think we liked the sausage even better.

This is a great comfort food dinner and the fresh veggies make it fabulous.

Ingredients
1 lb or 4 cans of green beans (Fresh is best)
5 yukon gold potatoes cubed (Keep the skins on if you like)
4 carrots peeled and cut up
1 ring of Smoked Sausage or Kielbasa (the new Applewood Smoked Sausage by McCormick is fabulous)
1 can of chicken broth
Season with salt/pepper or Nature's Seasoning

Directions

Toss it all in the crock, season and pour in the broth.

Cook on low 8-10 hours

Enjoy!

Honey Dijon Pork Chops

Ingredients
4 boneless pork loin chops (5 ounces each)
1 teaspoon salt-free lemon-pepper seasoning
2 teaspoons canola oil
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
Directions
Sprinkle pork chops with lemon pepper. In a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray, heat oil over medium heat. Brown chops on both sides.
In a small bowl, whisk orange juice, mustard and honey until blended; pour over chops. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, 5-8 minutes
Remove chops from pan; keep warm. Bring sauce to a boil; cook until mixture is reduced to 1/4 cup, stirring occasionally. Serve with chops.
Yield: 4 servings.

I found this recipe on Taste of Home's site I've been desperate to find lower sodium recipes for my mom. This one was definitely a winner, though mine had to have a little more sodium then this one, as my lemon pepper wasn't sodium free, so I just used less.

My mom enjoyed it, so that's one for the win column.

French Onion Soup Meatloaf

This meatloaf is my creation and it was super yummy!

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs of ground beef
1 package of stuffing mix
2 eggs slightly beaten
1 can french onion soup
1 cup of mozzarella cheese

Directions

Combine the first 4 ingredients and place in a shallow baking dish and bake for 55 minutes at 350 degrees.

I made a gravy with Heinz Brown Gravy and Onions, French Onion soup and a can of mushrooms. Just before the meatloaf is finished pour a small amount of gravy over the loaf and then add cheese. Return to the oven and continue cooking until the cheese melts.

Recipe of The Week: Beefy Tortellini Skillet

Do you want something quick, easy and good for supper, but you don't have a lot of time, this is the recipe for you.

The recipe comes from Taste Of Home


Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
1/2 teaspoon Montreal steak seasoning
1 cup water
1 teaspoon beef bouillon granules
1 package (19 ounces) frozen cheese tortellini
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Italian cheese blend
Directions

In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat 5-6 minutes or until no longer pink, breaking into crumbles; drain. Stir in steak seasoning. Add water and bouillon; bring to a boil. Stir in tortellini; return to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, 3-4 minutes or until tortellini are tender. Remove from heat; sprinkle with cheese. Let stand, covered, until cheese is melted. Yield: 4 servings.

Receipe: Porcupine Balls

Porcupine Balls are one of my favorite comfort foods.

I spent all day trying to find a recipe that tasted as good as my mum's but was a little simpler. I've tried so many recipes for this dish. I'e liked many of them, but none of them came out the way my mom made them until I found this one.

Ingredients

1 1/4 ground beef
1/4 cup rice uncooked (I highly recommend using River Rice)
1 egg slightly beaten
1/2 T parsley
1/2 tsp salt
dash of pepper
2 cans of tomato soup divided
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp Worchestershire sauce

Directions

1 Combine ground beef, rice, egg, parsley, onion, salt, pepper and 1/4 cup of tomato soup. Mix well.
2. Shape mixture into large balls my recipe made 10 -12 meatballs or 20 small ones
3. Mix remaining soup, water and Worchestershire in a small bowl and pour over meatballs.
5. Bring to a boil.
6. Reduce heat and simmer 40 minutes or until meatballs are cooed and rice is soft, stirring often. If you use the cheaper rice, it will take longer.

Serve with mashed potatoes and your favorite veggie

5 Ingredient Mexican Pasta Bake

This has to be one of the best 5 ingredient recipes that I've ever made

The 5 ingredients

1 lb ground meat
2 - 2.5 cups of Mexican/Taco cheese
1/2 lb of rotini
32 oz of your favorite salsa. (I used more, because I buy those huge jars of salsa at Aldi)
1 can of black beans rinsed and drained.


Directions

Preheat your oven to 350
Prepare pasta according to the package directions
set aside.
Brown ground meat, drain fat.
Combine meat salsa and beans in a large bowl.
In a 9 x 13 pan layer pasta, meat mixture, cheese and repeat.
Cover and bake 30 - 40 minutes.

Recipe: 5 Ingredient Meatloaf

Are you looking for a quick meal to assemble? One that will likely have ingredients you already have and is delicious?

Well this meatloaf is wonderful.

Ingredients
2 lbs ground beef
1 package chicken stuffing mix
1/2 cup bbq sauce (divided)
1 cup water
2 eggs

Directions

Preheat oven 375

Combine all ingredients with 1/4 of the bbq sauce and shape in a greased 9 x 13 pan. Pour remaining bbq over the loaf and bake for 50 minutes

The result is yummy and the leftovers make great sandwiches!

Recipe: Chicken Enchilada Bake

If you are looking for a great tasting recipe with minimal ingredients but maximum taste, look no further than this Enchilada Bake

Ingredients
1 rotisserie chicken
28 oz green enchilada sauce
10 oz sour cream
corn tortillas
4 cups of shredded cheese. I used Mexican cheese and colby.

Directions

Preheat oven to 375
Grease a 9 x 13 pan
Layer ingredients chicken, sauce, sour cream, tortillas and cheese. I did 2 layers.
Cover bake 40 minutes and uncovered 10 minutes.

Recipe In Progress: Philly Cheese Steak Stuffed Peppers

I saw a recipe for cheese steak stuffed peppers on Facebook and I had to try them.

This is really a recipe in progress because the creator had a great idea, but it does't come out quite the way you'd like it to.

Ingredients
9 oz. Steakumms

8 slices provolone or swiss or american cheese for purists.

2 large green bell peppers

1 medium sweet onion, sliced

6 oz. baby bella mushrooms, sliced ( used a whole box of sliced 'Shrooms)

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon garlic, minced

salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

Slice green peppers and clean out seeds. Add a slice of cheese in the bottom

Caramelized the onions and then add the mushrooms.

Cook until mushrooms are browned and soft.
Add Steakumms and cook until they are done.

Stuff peppers with meat and mushroom mixture.
Top with cheese
Bake at 400 for about 20 - 30 minutes

I suggest after making these to roast the peppers while you're making the meat mixture because if you follow the recipe as is, those peppers will be quite crunchy!

So with a few changes, this recipe is a total winner.

Taco Skillet

Taco Skillet

This is one of my favorite easy recipes. I usually make it according to the recipe that you can find on the Campbell's website.


1 pound ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion (I like the frozen kind)
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell’s® Condensed Tomato Soup (Regular or Healthy Request®)
1(16 ounce) jar Pace® Picante Sauce  water
1 jar green chilis
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained.
6 each flour tortillas, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup shredded Mexican Cheese

Directions


Cook the beef in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until well browned, stirring often to separate meat. Pour off any fat. 2Stir the soup, picante sauce, water, chilis, beans and tortillas in the skillet and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cook for 5 minutes. Stir the beef mixture. Top with the cheese.

Mmm Egg Salad

You get bored with the same old same old recipes sometimes.

Granted I'm all for the tried and true, eggs, mayo, and dijion mustard version, but I had a lot of hard cooked eggs and I wanted to try something different.

I want to thank Taste of Home for this great recipe that I only modified slightly.

Ingredients

3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup mayonnaise (1/3 of a cup worked better for me)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped green or sweet red pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
1/4 cup sweet pickle relish
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley (I omitted the parsley and added about 1 Tbsp of Dijon mustard)
8 hard-cooked eggs, chopped



Directions
In a bowl, mix cream cheese, mayonnaise, salt and pepper until smooth. Stir in green pepper, celery, relish and parsley. Fold in eggs. Refrigerate, covered, until serving. Yield: 3 cups.

I usually like my egg salad on a nice roll or bun, but I had melba round crackers from Aldi and it was yummy.

Southwestern Pasta Salad

The Memorial Day holiday always means a nice pasta salad.

This year I took the lazy girls way out and used a Suddenly Salad mix and jazzed it up.

I looked at the recipe for the Southwest Salad on the Betty Crocker site and it was a little too much. So I kept what I liked and changed a few things and I have to say the result is quite nice.

I'm going to add a package of Southwest Chicken to the salad before serving, but it is honestly yummy just the way it is.

Ingredients

1 box of Classic Suddenly Salad
1/2 cup italian dressing
Hot sauce
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 can green giant mexicorn
1 can tomatoes and green chilis drained
1 can black beans drained
1 cup grated mexican cheese


Direction

Prepare pasta according to package directions
In a medium bowl combine, seasoning packet, dressing, about 5 splashes of hot sauce and cumin and mix well
Add pasta and remaining ingredients and combine
Cover and chill for an hour before serving to get the optimum flavor!

Pretty In Pink Cake

If you are looking for a quick and easy dessert that's really no muss, no fuss, look no further than the Pretty In Pink Cake.

It has a few simple ingredients

1 box of white cake mix
1 can of cherry pie filler
3 eggs
1 tsp of Almond extract

Preheat your oven to 350

Combine all 4 ingredients and mix well.

Pour into a prepared 9 x 13 pan and bake according to the package directions. Usually 30 - 35 minutes.

This cake is delicious with powdered sugar on top, plain or with whipped cream and a maraschino cherry.

It can also be made with Devil's Food cake for an awesome chocolate cherry cake.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Nut Bread

My mother watches The Chew most days and she saw Michael Symon's recipe for chocolate peanut butter banana bread.

I love The Six Sister's Blog and I follow it frequently for quick recipes that are delicious.

Well I've been a huge fan of their 3 ingredient banana bread, that I turned into 4 and sometimes 5 ingredient bread, so I thought, why not try it this way.

It was freaking fabulous.

Here's how you do it.

3-4 over ripe bananas mashed
2 eggs
1 package of Devil's Food cake (or your favorite chocolate cake mix)
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup of peanut butter

Pour into two prepared loaf pans. (Spray with Baker's Joy or something similar)
Bake at 350 for 45 - 50 minutes.

Enjoy!

The regular banana nut bread is made with yellow cake mix. (I recommend Golden Butter by Duncan Hines) And you omit the peanut butter.

Mississppi Roast

I think anyone that's looked at a cooking website has found this roast recipe.

My mom loves roast and I thought, why the hell not. It's only 5 simple ingredients, that you layer in the crock pot.

1 chuck roast
1 pack of ranch dressing mix
1 pack of McCormick or any other brand of au jus mix
1 stick of butter
5 pepperocinis

There's no water in this recipe. I know that sounds odd, since it is a slow cooker meal, but trust me, the butter does all the work.

This was one of the best chuck roasts that I've ever made. Even my nephew, who hates roast ate this one with relish.

There were no leftovers!!

Pineapple Bread Pudding

My family loves bread pudding. Any time I have some extra cinnamon raisin bread, I whip up some.

Is it a dessert or is it breakfast food?

I think it could be either.

This recipe is very similar to the scalloped pineapple recipe I use at Christmas and Easter.

 This is a recipe anyone can do.

Very easy!

Very delicious!

Ingredients

1 20 oz can of crushed pineapple
5 slices of bread cubed and sliced (any white bread works)
1/2 c butter melted
1 cup of sugar
1 tsp vanilla
4 eggs beaten

Directions

Preheat your oven to 325

Grease a 2 qt baking dish  I like a nice butter spray

Toss your bread in the dish

Combine your beaten eggs, sugar, pineapple and butter and vanilla.

Pour over your bread cubes and stir until the bread is well coated.

Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour.

Serve with a little bit of milk or maple syrup!