Summer Chicken and Vegetable Enchiladas

So, notice the strange picture collage thing up top? Yup... well, you see, I forgot to take pictures of this meal with my real camera, then accidentally deleted the pictures I took with my phone, and was left with only what I put on Instagram. What can I say... it's not a typical picture for the food blog, but it gets the point across! And this meal was too good to not share!

What you can't see from my nifty collage is how good these really were. In the summer I find we eat a ton of zucchini with tomatoes and really never get sick of the combo. When I made these I also made them for a friend and she and her husband enjoyed them too. John, while eating, said, "I LOVE when you make things like this!" If you're wondering what "things like this" he means enchiladas. I guess he forgot the word haha! I have to say though, having these put me in the mood for enchiladas and I think I'll be making them again soon!

Source: Stephanie Cooks Original

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked chicken, cubed

1 zucchini, sliced thin in half moons

1 cup cherry tomatoes

1 tsp olive oil

1 tsp southwestern seasoning

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 can enchilada sauce

6-8 tortillas (I used corn/flour blend)

Directions:

1- Preheat the oven to 400.

2- Place the zucchini, tomatoes, olive oil, and southwestern seasoning in an oven safe dish. Stir well. Bake 30 minutes, or until soft and tomatoes burst easily with a fork.

3- Mix veggies in with the cubed chicken. Stir in 1/2 cup enchilada sauce and the shredded cheese.

4- Spread 1/4 cup enchilada sauce on the bottom of a baking dish. 

5- Evenly spread the filling in the tortillas, wrapping. 

6- Place seam side down in the baking dish. Top with remaining sauce and additional cheese, if desired. Bake 30 minutes at 350.

Thai Chicken Stir Fry

Once upon a time I used to have the luxury of cooking dinners at a slow pace, chopping each vegetable by hand, and carefully selecting my ingredients while watching whatever I wanted on TV. These days, I have a two year old clinging to my leg screaming, "I WANT TO HELP YOU CUT! I CAN USE A KNIFE!!!!!" while Daniel Tiger plays in the background. So... needless to say, things have changed. A bit. I wouldn't trade it for the world, but the world is definitely a different place than it once was! With that said, I've gotten creative and found some new shortcuts to make dinner easier. I've been using Green Giant's frozen teriyaki vegetable blend in stir fry recipes often and I really like it! If you haven't tried it, I suggest it.

This meal was excellent. I was reluctant to add the peanut butter in because Landon was awake during dinner time, but I'm glad I did. I simply removed his serving before stirring it in, that way we all got to enjoy it but John and I still got to enjoy the peanuty flavor. I love this and plan to make it often. It's so easy... and now I have a jar of chunky peanut butter to use up!

Source: Stephanie Cooks Original

Ingredients:
1/2 pound chicken tenders, sliced
Salt/pepper
1 tsp Asian seasoning blend
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp sweet red chili sauce
1 tbsp teriyaki sauce
3 tbsp chunky peanut butter
1 package frozen Green Giant teriyaki vegetables, steamed according to box directions

Directions:
1- Toss the salt/pepper/and Asian seasonings over the chicken, stirring well.
2- Heat the oil in the skillet. Add the chicken, cooking until browned and almost cooked through.
3- In a small bowl combine the red chili sauce, teriyaki sauce, and peanut butter. Stir into the skillet.
4- Add the vegetables to the skillet (along with the sauce from the packet). Stir well.
5- Heat all together for about 1 minute. Serve with rice.

Parmesan Garlic Oven Fries

John and I don't often eat at chain restaurants, but when we do one we both enjoy is Houlihan's. We are both huge fans of their spinach dip... and honestly, that's the only reason I go there. If I had to pick my last meal on Earth it would likely start with Houlihan's spinach dip. One time when we were there John got a side of their parmesan fries and I was in heaven. Technically they were John's, but I ate my fair share. He's a good man... he knows better than to not share with me!

I decided to make a version at home so it could be a bit healthier and more readily available. These were amazing. They are so easy to make- Landon even did a lot of the work to assemble them! It's such an easy side dish and has so much flavor. You can add fresh garlic too to give it more punch. I intended to but then Landon was a bit of a beast challenging at bedtime and I never got to it. Even without the fresh garlic they were amazing!

Source: Stephanie Cooks Original

Ingredients:
2 Russet potatoes, scrubbed
1 tbsp roasted garlic olive oil (or regular oil if you can't find it)
1 tsp garlic salt
Cracked black pepper
3 tbsp parmesan cheese
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Directions:
1- Preheat the oven to 450.
2- Slice the potatoes into wedges. Rub with the olive oil.
3- Sprinkle with the garlic salt and pepper.
4- Bake for 35 minutes, flipping halfway through.
5- Remove from the oven. Cover in cheese and parsley.

Melted Caramel & Walnut Cookies

It was the day before Mother's Day and I was at the grocery store. I knew I needed to bring a dessert to my sister's the next day but really wasn't in the mood to do much hard work. At the last minute I decided to just forget it, go to the bakery and get a cake, taking the easy route out. However when I was on line to pay I saw a pack of Rolo candies and was inspired. I grabbed 5 rolls and figured I'd come up with something when I got home. I really had no plan and was just kind of digging through my pantry to make anything with what I had!

If you tasted these cookies you'd never know they were an afterthought. Honestly, they were delicious. TOO delicious. I had to leave the extra cookies with my sister because I knew I could not be trusted with these beauties. These take very little effort but the payout is immense. I highly suggest you try them!

Source: Stephanie Cooks Original

Ingredients:
1 box yellow cake mix
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup crushed walnuts
5 packs Rolo candies, unwrapped
1/2 cup chocolate chips (for drizzle)

Directions:
1- Preheat the oven to 350.
2- In a large bowl combine the cake mix, baking powder, oil, eggs, and oil. Mix until well incorporated.
3- Stir in the walnuts.
4- Spoon with 1/2 tbsp measuring spoon. Place a Rolo in the center of each cookie.
5- Bake for 10 minutes. Once removed from the oven immediately use the back of a teaspoon to pat down the Rolo candy until flat. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 3-4 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
6- Once completely cool, melt the chocolate chips. Transfer to a squirt bottle or piping bag. Drizzle over the cookies. Allow to harden.

Farfalle with Roasted Vegetables and Crispy Chicken

I don't know what's up with me lately but cooking has become more of a chore and less of a hobby. It's sad, because I really *love* cooking. However life has gotten crazy. There's the usual stuff (my job, my son) then the "extra" stuff (social things, my new County Teacher of the Year role, etc.) I feel like I'm a hamster on a wheel at all times. So some thing has to give... and often it's dinner. I cook nightly, but sometimes it's nothing to blog about (hello buttered noodles and frozen veggies!) This meal was a last ditch effort to eat a real meal, but keep it simple. And honestly, it was a total success. I wasn't sure about the breaded chicken in it, thinking the breading might get soggy, but it was totally delicious.

Source: Stephanie Cooks Original

Ingredients:
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 zucchini, diced into half moons
1 tsp olive oil
Garlic salt/pepper
5 frozen chicken tenders (or equivalent of homemade)
1/2 pound bow tie pasta
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup light cream
1/3 cup basil leaves, torn

Directions:
1- Preheat the oven to 425. In an oven safe dish combine the tomatoes, zucchini, oil, garlic salt and pepper. Roast for about 20 minutes.
2- Cook the frozen chicken tenders according to packaging directions.
3- Meanwhile, cook the pasta.
4- Remove the tomatoes/zucchini mixture and break the tomatoes up using a potato masher (be careful- the tomato juices are hot).
5- Transfer the mixture, and all juices, to a saucepan. Add the balsamic and cream. Heat over low heat.
6- Add the pasta and chicken, stirring gently until everything is covered in sauce. Top with basil. Serve hot.

Firecracker Shrimp

Ever since my first bite of bang bang shrimp I've been a huge fan of the crisp, creamy, spicy, shrimp. Recently it seems like many restaurants are coming up with their own version of this famous shrimp dish. John and I took Landon to Houlihan's recently and I got their firecracker shrimp appetizer as my meal and was obsessed. It was similar to Bonefish Grill's bang bang shrimp but it had a deeper flavor and was less creamy. I have no idea what was in it, but I was a fan!

I decided to try my hand at replicating it at home. I searched online to see if there was a version floating around out there but there wasn't. That's ok... I can handle a challenge! I started with a similar base of flavors as bang bang shrimp but then added a few additional ingredients. We loved this! It's a quick and easy dinner because I used the sauce with frozen butterflied shrimp, so all I had to do was coat the premade shrimp with the homemade sauce. John and I were obsessed with this dinner. So much so that I can assure you I'll be making it again- soon!

Source: Stephanie Cooks Original

Ingredients:
1 box frozen butterflied shrimp
2 tbsp mayo
4 tbsp red Thai sweet chili sauce
1 tsp sriracha
1 tsp teriyaki sauce
1 tsp honey
Green onion
Black/white sesame seeds (you can use just one of the other)

Directions:
1- Cook the shrimp according to packaging directions.
2- Meanwhile, combine the sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Mix well. When shrimp are done, remove from the oven.
3- Using a spoon, spoon the sauce evenly over the cooked shrimp, rubbing into the shrimp. Bake an additional 2 minutes.
4- Remove from the oven. Top with green onion and sesame seeds.

Grilled Chicken and Roasted Tomato Lemon Pasta

It's Cinco de Mayo! So... if I was a good blogger, I'd be sharing enchiladas, or queso, or really anything Mexican inspired. But I'm the worst at keeping track of these things, so instead I'm sharing pasta. YAY! How festive!! Forgive. I know you keep coming back for something, and it's just not my ability to blog appropriate foods on the appropriate holidays.

I love roasting tomatoes and I've told you that about 10,000 times in the past. So we won't go down that path again (although I could... I could tell you how I love watching the skin char and split, or how the juice pops out when you smush them... but I won't. Not now. Maybe later.) This dinner was born from necessity. Oh you know... the "it's dinner time and I need to eat and I have to pull it together and I don't know what I want and there's all these almost-used-up foods and I could order a pizza and I shouldn't but I could and...." Ya know. That. So I threw this together using what I had and it was delicious! I used some grilled chicken I had left from a previous meal which made this even easier, but all together this is a fast and delicious dinner! Can't beat that.

Source: Stephanie Cooks Original

Ingredients:
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 tsp olive oil
Garlic salt
2 chicken breasts, grilled (mine were marinaded in lemon with a hint of honey)
1 tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 cup light cream
1/2 pound pasta

Directions:
1- Preheat the oven to 425. Put the cherry tomatoes in an oven safe dish. Drizzle with oil and season with garlic salt. Bake 25-30 minutes, or until the skin splits and the tomatoes are bursting.
2- Meanwhile, slice your grilled chicken and keep warm. Cook pasta according to packaging directions.
3- In a skillet melt the butter. Add the garlic and stir frequently, until fragrant. Add flour and stir until a paste forms.
4- Add the chicken broth and cook over a medium-high heat until broth thickens. Add lemon juice and cream.
5- Remove tomatoes from the oven. Smash with a potato masher. Add the tomatoes and their juices to the sauce and allow to cook over low heat for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
6- Stir in the pasta and chicken. Heat over medium heat for 5 minutes, until everything is hot. Serve with parmesan cheese.