Day 119: Tex- Mex White Cheddar Chicken Spaghetti

Original Source: Lauren's Latest

My Guy cooked this one, and even my cheese-hating Teen Boy loved it. It's really really good. I only ate a little, piled on a lot of greens to make me feel a little fuller as pasta tends to have an adverse reaction for my weight. But trust me, I wanted more. My Guy claims it was fairly easy and quick to cook, as well. I'll take his word for it.

(Also, is there anything sexier than being cooked for by your significant other? I think not.)

Get the recipe HERE

Day 111: Baked Cheddar Broccoli Rice Cups

Original Source: Fountain Avenue Kitchen

What's not to love? Cheese? Broccoli? Rice... sign me up. This was very simple to make and other than a few tweaks to try next time  (there WILL be a next time) it was tasty.
Change 1) I'd have to use sharp cheddar because the regular was too mild to taste. And I love the taste of cheese.
Change 2) I won't use Minute rice again. I think it's disgusting and never use it anyway, but wanted to try this as per instructions. Instructions did offer the exchange for REAL rice. That's the way I'll go next time.

Oh, and one extra change, which was probably just my own fault... I didn't use enough non-stick spray because the bases of these balls didn't come out very pretty.

Otherwise, it's a nice side dish!

Get the recipe HERE

Day 11 : Cheesy Chicken Tater Tot Casserole

Original Source: The Country Cook

FIND RECIPE HERE

Let me say, this was a pain in my $##. Not the recipe itself, but because of the number of days I tried to make it and kept forgetting to start the crock pot! 2 or 3:00 would roll around and I'd remember and.. yeah, new plans for dinner. I'm not used to using a crockpot outside of weekends, unless it's for beans.

Ok, onward and upward!

My thoughts:
Tasty. My guy agreed, as did my Teen Boy. Teen Daugher (As usual) wasn't around.

However, we all agreed that this dish would be far better served as a breakfast dish. Take out the chicken, use sausage instead, and this would get 4 stars instead of the 3 we gave it. Also, I don't use fake bacon for anything. So I used real bacon, slightly cooked, and cut into pieces. Next time, I'll cook the bacon more, because it never developed a nice, crunchy texture.

1 problem with the recipe. Granted, I could be blind and I'm known for not being able to see what's right in front of me, but the recipe layers everything out yet forgets the first layer of cheese. By the time you get to the second layer, it's tell you it's the third. Not so. So my bottom layer had no cheese :( It wasn't missed, however, so carry on.  The tater tots throughout take on a rice-y texture and is quite lovely, while the top layer keeps its tater tot shape. Seriously, as a breakfast, this would be far better. The chicken was an unneeded distraction that I ended up pushing aside.

Day 4: Baked Monte Cristo Sandwiches

Original Source: Pepperidge Farms

Featuring Puff Pastry! YUM!!

How they're supposed to look (Above)

Find recipe HERE.

Meanwhile see my less than stellar photos below.

Now mine looks nowhere near as yummy as the above pic, but they tasted pretty darn good. We chose to forgo the syrup dip... Just not a syrup fan anyway. But I did dip in a bit of Dijon mustard and wow! Really excellent.  

My guy loved it enough to eat 2. I might have, if they weren't so calorie heavy. (I roughly figured it as around 450 cals per triangle sandwich. My daughter was absent and the 15-year-old boy... I don't think he was a big fan. He DID say it was better with the mustard, but he also does NOT like cheese, so that was an automatic strike against this right away.

If you try it, let me know. Powdered sugar... never thought I'd like it at all!

1. Egg washing the edges for gooey stickiness factor

2. Adding the good stuff. Ham and Swiss cheese.

3. Fold.

4. Crimp.

5. Add some more egg wash.

6.  Cook and sprinkle with powdered sugar.