Baked Chicken Chimichangas

Once upon a time I used to do a lot of freezer cooking. It was a peaceful and joyful time in my cooking "career". Peaceful because I knew what was for dinner everyday. In the morning I would take the dish out of the freezer to thaw and in the evening bake/cook as directed by the recipe. Preparing side dishes, bread, and occasionally a dessert was a breeze since the main dish was already done. It was joyful because I could share meals with others since I had food ready to go in the freezer. Not only does freezer cooking save time but saves money too. By planning meals, it eliminates the last minute takeout dinner or errand to the store to purchase pricey readymade meals that are often loaded with preservatives. I truly love freezer cooking, but since I do not have much freezer space here in Italy, I am not able to do as much as I would like. I hope to do more freezer cooking again when we move back to the states.

These chicken chimichangas are one of my favorite freezer meals. When freezing, prepare chimichangas per directions, then wrap in foil and freeze. When ready to cook, simply thaw and following baking instructions.  

Chicken Chimichangas

From: Southern Living

Yield: 20 servings

1 (16 ounce) jar picante sauce or salsa, divided

7 cups chopped cooked chicken - great tip for shredding chicken, place cooked chicken in a kitchen aid mixer and mix for a couple of minutes and you will have perfectly shredded chicken.

1 small onion, diced

2 to 2 ½ teaspoons ground cumin

1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon salt

20 (8 inch) tortillas

3 cups (12 ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese

Toppings: guacamole, sour cream, shredded lettuce, diced tomato

Combine 1 ½ cups picante sauce and next 5 ingredients in a Dutch oven (I don't have a dutch oven so I use a skillet); cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, 25 minutes or until most of liquid evaporates.

Spoon 1/3 cup mixture below center of each tortilla; top with 2 tablespoons cheese.

Fold in 2 sides of tortillas to enclose filling. Fold over top and bottom edges of tortillas, making rectangles. Secure with wooden picks. I did this for the blog, but I don't really think it is necessary to use toothpicks. I just lay the seam side down and it works just fine.

Place, folded side down, on greased baking sheets. Coat chimichangas with cooking spray.

Bake at 425° for 8 minutes; turn and bake 5 more minutes. Remove picks; top with remaining picante sauce and desired toppings.

Chicken Chimichangas

From: Southern Living

Yield: 20 servings

1 (16 ounce) jar picante sauce or salsa, divided

7 cups chopped cooked chicken

1 small onion, diced

2 to 2 ½ teaspoons ground cumin

1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon salt

20 (8 inch) tortillas

3 cups (12 ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese

Toppings: guacamole, sour cream, shredded lettuce, diced tomato

Combine 1 ½ cups picante sauce and next 5 ingredients in a Dutch oven; cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, 25 minutes or until most of liquid evaporates. Spoon 1/3 cup mixture below center of each tortilla; top with 2 tablespoons cheese.

Fold in 2 sides of tortillas to enclose filling. Fold over top and bottom edges of tortillas, making rectangles. Secure with wooden picks. Place, folded side down, on greased baking sheets. Coat chimichangas with cooking spray.

Bake at 425° for 8 minutes; turn and bake 5 more minutes. Remove picks; top with remaining picante sauce and desired toppings.

Buon Appetito!

Easy Sweet and Sour Chicken (updated with photo)

I am reposting this recipe because the original post didn't include a photo. This is one of my favorite easiest dishes to prepare. The dish only calls for 4 ingredients. A friend of mine suggested adding pineapple chunks to the sauce. I think that sounds delightful!

Sweet and Sour Chicken

serves 4-6

2 to 3 lb. chicken breasts

12 oz. jar apricot preserves

1 pkg. dry onion soup mix

8 oz. Russian salad dressing

Place chicken in a shallow baking pan. Mix soup mix, dressing, and preserves and pour over chicken. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. Serve with white rice.

Copycat Olive Garden Salad

Typically when someone is called a copycat it is not meant to be a compliment, but I guess that depends on who or what you are accused of copying. If someone were to tell me that I was a Celin Dion copycat, I would definitely not consider that an insult, but since I can't sing very well I don't have to worry about that ever happening :)

I think it is best to be original. I don't like to copy others; instead I like to get "inspiration" from others. For instance, I am not a fashionista, but I can identify those who are and get inspiration on how to dress.

There are times however when something is so good you just need to flat out copy the original. This is definitely true with this salad recipe. I am sure that many of you have enjoyed the wonderful salad at Olive Garden Restaurants. Their unlimited soup, salad, and breadstick deal is awesome! I could just about eat my weight in the salad. I was so excited when I came across this recipe a few months ago at www.tammysrecipes.com. I filed it away in my recipe binder waiting for just the right occasion. About a month ago my neighbor had a girl's movie night/Wii dance party. It was loads of fun! I took this salad to the party and it was a hit! It really does tastes just like Olive Garden's salad. So in this case, being a copycat is a good thing.

Olive Garden Salad and Dressing

Yield: 8-12 servings

 Salad Ingredients:

1 bag American Blend Dole Mix
4-5 slices red onion
1 can Black Olives chopped or sliced (I prefer to use kalamata olives.)
2-4 Pepperoncini peppers
1/2 cup or more Croutons (for gluten free, don't add croutons)
1 Tomato, chopped
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Dressing Ingredients:

1/2 cup Mayonnaise
1/3 cup White Vinegar
1 Tbsp. Vegetable oil
2 Tbsp. Corn Syrup (I add a tad bit more since I like the dressing a little sweeter.) 
2 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp Romano cheese
1/2 tsp Garlic salt or clove
1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning
1/2 tsp. Parsley Flakes
1 Tbsp. Lemon Juice

Instructions:

1. Combine salad ingredients and toss.

2. Whirl all dressing ingredients in the blender and pour over salad, coating well. Toss if desired. Sprinkle parmesan cheese over top and serve.

Buon Appetito!

Hearty Irish Breads

Source: thejoyofeverydaycooking.blogspot.com via Joy on Pinterest

Happy St. Patty's Day! In honor of St. Patrick's Day I thought I would repost the delicious bread recipes we enjoyed while in Ireland. Don't forget to wear green today!

I know I have mentioned this in another post, but in September we took a trip to Ireland. My husband Brandon, my friend Ginny and her husband James, and another friend Jen all ran the Dingle marathon. I am so proud of them for accomplishing such a feat. It takes a lot of dedication and determination to train for and complete a marathon. Jen's husband Mike ran a 1/2 ironman in Galway the following day in terrible weather. It was so inspiring to see athletes push their bodies to such extreme limits. What did I do you ask? Well, I had a very important task for which I have trained for the past 16 years. I was the official babysitter for the race. It was exhausting! haha! 


Before our vacation I had spoken to several people that had been to Ireland and everyone talked about how beautiful it was and how they wanted to go back one day. So I anticipated a good time and looked forward to seeing the beautiful countryside. Everything I was told was true, but one thing everyone failed to mention was the food. It was awesome! I don't know if it was because it was a nice change from Italian food, but regardless we loved it.

Some tradition Irish foods we enjoyed were stews (beef or lamb), fish and chips, hamburgers, scones, and, my favorite, brown bread and soda bread. The older boys and men enjoyed the traditional Irish breakfast which includes poached eggs, bacon, sausage,  and black and white pudding.

During the marathon Mike and I took the kids to get breakfast. My oldest son and his friend ordered the traditional breakfast. We were sitting at a different table, but I overheard the waitress mention that pudding came with the meal. When she brought the plate I didn't see anything that looked like pudding. I thought she would bring it out later, but when she didn't, I asked about it. She said the boys had already eaten it. She explained that it was the dark round food on their plate. My son thought it was sausage and asked the waitress what it was but she didn't want to tell them. After clearing the table she finally told them that is was sheep's blood!! The looks on their faces was priceless!


I could go on and on about the food, but I really want to share with you my favorite food from our trip. The bread was AMAZING!! The most popular breads in Ireland are soda bread and brown bread. The bread was so flavorful and hearty. In Dingle we stopped at the most charming little market. There was fresh bread, homemade jams, sweets, cakes, brownies, chocolates and many more homemade yummies. They were also selling fresh fruits and veggies, and sausages from the grill. There were even some handmade wool sweaters and accessories. Of course, I was most interested in the food. I was drawn to a bread booth with a beautiful assortment of bread. I asked for some traditional Irish bread. In a perfect Irish accent the merchant suggested the soda bread. I bought a huge loaf and carried it with me in my purse for the next several days munching on it whenever I got hungry :)

Here are some pics from the market.

After returning from our trip I was determined to find recipes for soda bread and brown bread so I searched the internet until I found a couple that seemed authentic. The Irish versions call for few ingredients. Some of the recipes I found online included raisins or sugar. Although these additions may be delicious, they are not traditional. I think these two recipes come really close to the bread we ate in Ireland.

Irish Brown Bread

Source: www.food.com

Prep time: 10 mins

Total time: 30 mins

Serves: 6-8

Yield 2 loaves 

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 ¼ cups whole wheat flour

¾ cup quick oats

½ cup wheat germ

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoons salt

1 ¾ cups buttermilk

2 tablespoons honey

1.       Heat oven to 425°F. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray. In a large bowl, mix flours, oats, wheat germ, baking soda, and salt.

2.      Whisk together buttermilk and honey.  Add to flour mixture; stir to combine until soft dough forms.

3.      Turn dough out onto floured surface. Divide in half. Shape each half into a round loaf. Place loaves 3 inches apart onto prepared baking sheet; bake 10 minutes. (I baked mine in a bread loaf pan.)

4.      Reduce temperature to 400°F. Continue baking 10 minutes longer or until bread sounds hollow when tapped. Let cool 15 minutes.

Nutritional facts per 117g

Calories 321.7

Fat 2.9g

Sugars 9.5g

Traditional Irish Soda Bread

Source: www.food.com

Prep time: 15 mins

Total time 1 hour

Serves: 8

Yield: 1 loaf

4        cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1-1 ½ cups buttermilk

1.       Heat oven to 425°F. Brush a baking sheet with melted butter or spray with non-stick spray.

2.      Combine dry ingredients in a deep bowl. Gradually stir in 1 cup buttermilk, beating constantly, until dough is firm enough to be gathered into a ball. If dough crumbles, add up to ½ cup more buttermilk, 1 tbsp at a time, until it holds together.

3.      Place on a lightly floured board and pat into an 8-inch flattened round loaf.

4.      Place loaf on baking sheet and slash a ½ inch deep “X” into the top of the dough with a small sharp knife.

5.      Bake at 425°F for about 45 minutes, or until the top is golden.

6.      Serve hot.

Nutritional facts per 94 g

Calories 239.7

Fat .8

Sugars 1.6g

Easy Lasagna

This easy no-boil lasagna was a favorite family recipe when I was growing up and is now a favorite with my family. It is so delicious, and I can honestly say it is the best lasagna I have ever eaten. Even the lasagna in Italy doesn't compare to this dish. I have cooked this recipe many times over the years as you can tell by my well-worn cookbook.

Since I like a saucier lasagna, I typically make 1 1/2 times the amount of meat sauce the recipe calls for. I don't think you will be disappointed with this Italian family favorite.

Easy Lasagna

1 lb. ground beef

3 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce (I use canned spaghetti sauce. It is tasty and inexpensive.)

1/2 cup water

2 cups cottage cheese

3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

2 eggs

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

8 oz. lasagna noodles, uncooked

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brown meat in skillet and drain. Add sauce and water to meat and simmer for 10 minutes. In a separate bowl, combine next 7 ingredients.

Layer meat sauce

Layer noodles

 Layer cheese mixture

 repeat ending with meat sauce and cheese

Cover with foil.

Bake 45-60 minutes.
Remove foil the last 5 minutes to allow the top to lightly brown.

Buon Appetito!

Turtle Brownies ~ Oldie but a Goodie

I have had this recipe for about 16 years. It is one of the first recipes that I learned to make and one of my husband's favorites. These brownies are really moist and oozing with gooey caramel chocolaty goodness! Top with a scoop of ice cream for extra deliciousness!

Turtle Brownies

50 caramels

1/3 cup evaporated milk

3/4 cup margarine

1/3 cup evaporated milk 

1 box chocolate cake mix

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup chocolate chips 

Melt caramels with 1/3 cup evaporated milk in large saucepan; set aside. Melt margarine with 1/3 cup evaporated milk in saucepan. Combine with cake mix and pecans in large bowl. Pat half mixture into greased 9 x 13 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 6 minutes. Sprinkle with chocolate chips; spread caramel mixture over chips. Pat cake mix over top. Bake 15 minutes. Cool. Cut into squares.

Oven-Fried Eggplant

What is large, purple, and has a round bottom? No, it's not Grimace, the Ronald McDonald character, or Barney the dinosaur. It's an eggplant or melazana in Italian.

There are many different varieties of eggplant. Some are small ivory-white and plump; they may be pink or purple and flecked with white irregular stripes. In Asia, they are tubular and usually straight or slightly curved. In Thailand, the eggplants are not much bigger than peas. Colors range from black, to purple to orange, green and white. They have a tender, slightly sweet flesh.


The majority of eggplants found in most grocery stores are dark purple or almost black and can be long and slim or fat. All have a similar bland yet smoky flavor and the flesh is spongy to the touch when raw, but soft after cooking. When purchasing, eggplants should feel heavy and quite firm to the touch, and have a glossy, unblemished skin. They will keep well in the salad drawer of the refrigerator for up to two weeks. (Source: The World Encyclopedia of Cooking Ingredients)


When cooking eggplant it is best to “salt” them first. Cut eggplant into ½ inch slices and sprinkle a generous amount of salt and allow to stand for one hour. This will out draw the excess moisture. Rinse well patting with paper towel to dry. Eggplants will absorb large amounts of oil when cooking and removing the excess moisture helps to reduce this.


You may get tired of me writing things like, "before moving to Sicily I had never eaten _____ or before moving to Sicily I rarely ate _____, or before moving to Sicily I didn't know what ______ was". I have been exposed to many different foods the past two years so I apologize if it gets annoying. Forgive me for saying again, but eggplant is another food that I didn't eat very often before moving to Sicily. Eggplant is very popular in Italy. Some of the most popular eggplant dishes are Pasta al a Norma (which is spaghetti with red sauce, fried eggplant and grated salty ricotta cheese),  Eggplant Caponata, (my favorite Italian antipasta), and Eggplant Parmigiana. Eggplant is also delicious simply sautéed or fried and served as a side dish or even as a topping for sandwiches. You cannot live in Sicily without at least trying eggplant.


I typically fry eggplant when serving as a side dish. It is really tasty, but very fattening. So when I came across this recipe for baked eggplant I thought I would give it a try. Oh my goodness was it good! No lie; it was even better than fried. If you like eggplant you have to try this guiltless recipe!

Oven-Fried Eggplant
Source: The Complete Cooking Light Cookbook
Prep: 11 minutes
Cook: 24 minutes
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 3 slices)

1/2 cup fat-free mayonnaise
1 tablespoon minced fresh onion
12 (1/2-inch-thick) slices unpeeled eggplant (about 1 pound)
1/3 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
Cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Combine mayonnaise and onion; spread evenly over both sides of eggplant slices. Combine breadcrumbs, cheese, and Italian seasoning in a shallow bowl; dredge eggplant in breadcrumb mixture.
3. Place sliced eggplant on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 425 degrees for 12 minutes. Turn eggplant over; bake 12 minutes or until golden.

Calories: 121
Fat: 2.8g
Protein 5g
Carb 19.8g
Fiber 3g