Picky Eaters Anonymous

Chicken Manicotti

2009-05-26T13:06:00.003-06:00

This is one of my personal favorites. The garlic salt and spaghetti sauce flavors mix perfectly together for a nice Italian dish. You might want to serve it with some garlic bread.

*When I make this for my family of 4, I cut the recipe in half.

28 oz jar spaghetti sauce
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 1/2 lbs chicken tenders (approx. 6 breasts)
14 uncooked manicotti shells
1/3 c. water
2 1/2 c. mozerella (shredded)

Heat oven to 350. In 13x9 glass pan, pour 1/3 of spaghetti sauce. Sprinkle chicken with garlic salt. Place chicken* into manicotti noodles. Place in baking dish. Pour water into remaining spaghetti sauce in jar. Close jar and shake well. Pour this mixture over shells in baking dish, making sure to cover pasta completely. Cover with mozerella cheese. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 80-90 minutes.

*If using breasts, you'll want to cut them into relatively thin strips - 3 to 4 strips per breast. I use the handle end of a spoon to push the chicken into the noodles.

Chicken Alfredo Bake

2009-05-26T13:04:00.002-06:00

Yummy, yummy, yummy! Just thinking about it now makes me want to make this for dinner.

4 chicken breasts
1 tbsp oil
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Cut chicken into chunks. Place in skillet with oil and brown for 5 minutes. Combine mayo and soup in a large bowl. Add chicken. Place in a 9 x 13 dish. Cover and bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Add parmesan cheese to top and cook uncovered for 10 minutes.

Cheesy Rice with Ham and Broccoli

2009-05-26T13:02:00.001-06:00

This is such a yummy way to use up left-over ham.

2 cups cooked ham, cut in chunks
3 cups fresh broccoli florets
1 cup water
1 1/2 cup Minute Rice, uncooked
1/2 lb. Velveta, cut into small cubes

Bring ham, broccoli & water to boil. Cover and cook on low for 3 minutes. Stir in rice and cheese. Cover. Remove from heat, let stand 7 minutes. Stire until cheese is melted.

Creamy Italian Chicken

2009-05-26T13:00:00.002-06:00

This one's a little high maintenance for a crock pot dish, but still yummy.

4 chicken breasts
1 envelope Italian salad dressing mix
1/3 cup water
1 package cream cheese
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can mushrooms (optional)
Rice or noodles

Place chicken in crock pot. Combine salad dressing mix and water. Pour over chicken. Cook on LOW for 3 hours. In a small mixing bowl whisk together cream cheese and soup until blended. Stir in mushrooms (if you want). Pour cream cheese mixture over chicken. Cook 1 to 3 hours longer or until chicken juices run clear. Serve with rice or noodles.

Brown Sugar Pork Chops

2009-05-26T12:56:00.002-06:00

This has to be one of the easiest pork chop recipes ever, but the flavors are really yummy together.

Pork Chops
Brown Sugar
Margarine
Soy Sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the desired number of pork chops in an appropriately sized pan. Place 1 tbsp of brown sugar on top of every chop. Place 1 tbsp of butter on top of brown sugar. Sprinkle all with soy sauce. Cover with tin foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil and cook for an additional 15 minutes until browned.

Burger Cups

2009-05-26T12:52:00.002-06:00

If this one sounds kind of disgusting to you, you're not alone. I was really reluctant to try it, but glad I did. It is SO easy, and the kids absolutely love it!

1 lb ground beef
1 (10 count) can of refrigerated biscuits
1/2 - 1 cup barbeque sauce (alt. spaghetti sauce)
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (alt. mozzerella)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown ground beef. Drain and return to pan. Flatten biscuits into a circle about the size of your palm. Spray muffin pan with cooking spray. Press each biscuit into the muffin cup and up the side as much as you can. Spoon ground beef into each biscuit, then top with 1 generous tbsp of sauce. Place cheese on top.

Bake for 10-13 minutes. Biscuit will look golden.

Milk-Based Marinade

2008-05-05T18:55:00.004-06:00

Okay, this one really isn't a recipe... just a technique I learned yesterday. Start with a little bit of milk (like a half cup or so), add seasonings of your choice (lemon pepper, grill seasoning, chicken rub, whatever you want), then thicken with a bit of cornstarch. Use the mixture as a marinade for chicken or other meat. Continuously baste the meat with the marinade while grilling. The thick marinate gives the meat TONS of flavor and a really pleasing texture. Try it with your favorite seasonings; you'll love it!

Tonight I used lemon pepper, garlic powder, lemon juice, and Thai peanut sauce. It was SO yummy.

Pineapple Tarragon Chicken

2008-04-15T13:25:00.003-06:00

I'll post this recipe the way I found it, although I had to make a few substitutions. First, I used orange juice concentrate where it gives an option of pineapple, and I used marjoram for tarragon because it was what I had on hand. (It turns out that tarragon can be difficult to find.) It was yummy the way I made it, but next time I'd really like to take the time to hunt down the pineapple concentrate and the tarragon to see if it is even better that way. Enjoy this sweet recipe.

6 oz can frozen pineapple or orange juice concentrate, thawed
1/4 cup pineapple preserves
1/4 cup honey
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp minced fresh tarragon leaves or 1 tsp dried tarragon
1/4 tsp. white pepper
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

For marinade, in a small saucepan combine juice, preserves, honey, olive oil, tarragon, salt, and pepper. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes until blended. Place chicken breasts in a glass baking dish and pour marinade over them. Cover and marinate for 2-8 hours in the refrigerator. When ready to cook, prepare and preheat grill. Remove chicken from marinade, reserving marinade. Grill chicken, turning and basting frequently with reserved marinade until chicken is thoroughly cooked, about 15-20 minutes. Place any remaining marinade in a small pan over medium heat and cook until boiling. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Serve with chicken.

Herbed Parsley Pork Chops

2008-04-03T15:37:00.002-06:00

I tried this one out on my family (the Casdorphs), and I got good reviews from everyone except Jack, who saw me making it. He was a little freaked out by the parsley in the blender, because he doesn't like green stuff. He still ate it without too much complaint, but I'd recommend not letting your pickier eaters see this one until its finished.

3/4 c. Italian dressing
1 cup fresh parsley, packed (I actually used parsley flakes and it worked)
2 garlic cloves
4 pork chops

In blender, puree the dressing, parsley and garlic together. Place pork chops in casserole dish or bowl suitable for marinading. Reserve 1/2 c. sauce for serving*; pour the rest over the chops and spread out evenly. Let stand at least 20 minutes. Cook chops and marinade in pan over medium high heat, 4-5 minutes per side or until done to your liking. Serve with reserved sauce.

*The marinaded chops took on a little more of the garlic flavor while the sauce tasted most like the Italian dressing. My dad and I ate our chops plain. Skye really liked the sauce. Kirk alternated between sauce and plain. It was nice to have options.

Hawaiian Ham Loaf

2008-04-01T14:38:00.003-06:00

I can't believe Kirk liked this one, even though it has mustard. I made this for Sunday dinner, and it was such a nice change from just a regular ham. The different flavors come together for some really interesting tastes.

Small ham (1 to 2 lbs)
2 tbsp yellow mustard
2 rings canned pineapple, drained
1/8 tsp allspice
1 tbsp honey
12 whole cloves
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp dry mustard powder

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cutting a little more than halfway through, but the ham into 8 sections. Make sure you don't cut all the way through the loaf. You just want sections that you can spread apart with your fingers. Spread some of the mustard in every cut.

Cut the pineapple rings in half to form four half-circles. Stick three whole cloves in the rounded edge of each pineapple ring half. Tuck the pineapple ring halves into every other cut, rounded sides up. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, allspice, dry mustard powder, and honey; spoon over loaf.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes per pound, until sugar is melted and ham is heated through.

To serve, slice through the loaf at every other cut so the pineapple is in the middle of each serving. Make sure you don't eat the cloves!

Sticky Chinese Chicken

2008-04-01T14:35:00.003-06:00

I just tried this recipe last night, and it is definately one I'll try again. I may adjust the ratios a bit to get more flavor next time, but the overall idea went over very well. The croutons turn into such a yummy part of this dinner.

1 c. finely crushed onion & garlic croutons
1/4 c. cornstarch
2 tbsp light soy sauce
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in 1 inch pieces
1/4 c. canola oil

In a large bowl, whisk crouton crumbs with cornstarch. Stir in soy sauce. Add chicken and toss until completely coated. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and cook, covered for 20-25 minutes or until nice and crispy and cooked through. Turn about 4 or 5 times to avoid burning. Drain on paper towels and serve hot with rice or noodles.

Parmesan Chicken Strips

2008-03-29T11:15:00.003-06:00

This is another of Kirk's favorites. It takes a little while to prepare, but not too long to cook.

1 1/2 c. crushed croutons*
1/3 c. parmesan cheese
1 tsp parsley
1/4 tsp garlic salt
2 egg whites
1 tbsp water
1 lb. chicken breasts (cut into strips)
1/4 c. ranch dressing

Preheat oven to 450. Combine croutons, cheese, parsley, and garlic salt. Whisk egg whites and water. Dip chicken into egg mixture, then into crumb mixture. Bake 14-16 minutes or until done. Serve with dressing.

*I've tried various methods of crushing the croutons. My current favorite is to just put them in the blender. To save time, I also generally crush up a whole package and save the extra for the next time I make this dish.

Bacon Wrapped Chicken

2008-03-28T11:17:00.003-06:00

I'm pretty sure this one is Kirk's favorite of all the dishes I make. It makes a great impression, so invite some friends over for this one.

4 chicken breasts
1/2 package cream cheese
4 slices bacon
1 tsp chopped chives
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 c. mayo
1/2 c. milk
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp pepper
pinch salt

Preheat oven to 325. Pound chicken flat.* Mix cream cheese and chives. Spread evenly over the chicken breasts, then roll up the chicken. Wrap each breat with bacon and secure with a toothpick. Place in a 9x13 pan. Combine soup, mayo, milk, lemon juice, pepper, and salt. Pour over chicken. Bake for 1 hour.

*Kirk saw this really cool trick on a cooking show. Before you pound your meat, cover it in plastic wrap. I've tried it, and it makes it SO much easier, and the chicken handles it better.

Burger Cups

2008-03-28T11:12:00.002-06:00

Okay, this one sounds totally gross, and I was really reluctant to try it. I kept my mind open, though, and actually LOVED it. I personally prefer the spaghetti sauce/mozerella combo, but the bbq/cheddar option is pretty yummy, too.

1 lb ground beef
1 (10 count) can of refrigerated biscuits
1/2 to 1 c. barbeque sauce or spaghetti sauce
1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese or mozerella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown ground beef. Drain and return to pan. Flatten biscuits into a circle about the size of your palm. Spray muffin pan with cooking spray. Press each biscuit circle into the muffin cup and up the side as much as you can. Spoon ground beef into each biscuit, then top with one generous tbsp of sauce. Place cheese on top. Bake for 10-13 minutes. Biscuit will look golden.

Chicken Manicotti

2008-03-28T11:06:00.003-06:00

This dish is great for when you're having company over. It ends up looking really fancy (even though it's easy), and it doesn't have anything weird in it.

28 oz. jar spaghetti sauce
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 1/2 lbs chicken tenders (or approx. 6 chicken breasts)
14 uncooked manicotti shells
1/3 c. water
2 1/2 c. mozerella cheese (shredded)

Heat oven to 350. In a 13x9 glass pan, pour 1/3 of spaghetti sauce. Sprinkle chicken with garlic salt. Place chicken into manicotti noodles. Place in a baking dish. Pour water into remaining spaghetti sauce in jar. Close jar and shake well. Pour this mixture over shells in baking dish, making sure to cover pasta completely. Cover with mozerella cheese. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 80 to 90 minutes.