Chicken and Biscuit Pockets

Here is another easy one. Do it the quick way and you can have it all prepaired by the time the oven heats up. Or you can make them more from scratch and it's like 20 minuts prep time. Whenever I cook chicken I like to make extra just to keep in my fridge to be used for things just like this. It adds a little variety too because sometimes it'll be roasted chicken or shreaded or just chopped with different seasonings.


Start off preheating the oven to 400' F. Open up the refrigerator biscuit (like Pillsbury) and flatten them out so they are about 4 inches across. Then divide out your chicken squash and cheese evenly between all the biscuits. Fold the dough over the filling and pinch closed or use a fork to seal the edges really well. Put them on a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes.

While those are cooking mix together 1/4 cup mayo and 1 tbps honey mustard to make a tasty dip. Or you can dip them in ranch dressing.... or barbecue sauce... or whatever other sauce you like.

Ingredients

• 1  6-ounce package (5)  refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
• 1/2  cup  finely chopped cooked chicken
• 1/3  cup  coarsely shredded yellow summer squash (If i don't have fresh squash I use frozen green and yellow zucchini and cut each piece really small)
• 1/4  cup  shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese

If you don't have biscuits in the fridge or if you're like me and never keep them in there here is my recipe for Buttermilk Biscuits. It makes enough for 16 of these chicken pockets or you can just bake half of it separate for dinner the next day.

 

 

Buttermilk Biscuits

I must confess
I have never made True buttermilk biscuits
because I never have buttermilk in the fridge. I've never even bought. Instead I use a substitute for the buttermilk, all you have to do is add 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice (which I always have in the fridge) to 3/4 cup milk and let it sit out on the counter for at least 5 minutes.

So now that you have my knock off buttermilk here's what you do...

Melt
5 Tbsp butter
add your 3/4 cup of "buttermilk" and 3 Tbsp honey (I forgot to add this last time I made it and they were still delicious)
then mix in
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

After it's all mixed together you have a couple options. You can roll it out dust it with flour fold it in thirds roll it again dust it again fold it then roll it one last time and cut it into 16 pieces so that you get the seperate layers that comes with the territory of classic flaky biscuits.

OR you can do what I do and treat them like drop biscuits and after mixing everything together just use a spoon and drop lumps onto a cookie sheet.

Either way you just have to bake them for 10-12 minutes at 400' F.

Tacos

I'm not a big fan of the packages of taco seasonings so I use the spices in my cupboard. You probably have all the seasonings already... except cumin, maybe you don't have that one. Cumin helps give it a "Mexican" flavor. Before I bought my cumin I just added more chili powder and added a dash a cinnimon and that worked pretty well too.

1 Tbsp chili powder

1/4 tsp garlic

1/4 tsp onion

1/4 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp paprika

2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp hot sauce

salt and pepper 

1/4 cup tomato sauce.

Now that is for a full pound of ground beef for tacos so adjust the seasonings to your own taste. Just brown the beef and rinse. Then put it back in the pan and add your taco seasonings or taco package.

Build your tacos with either hard shells or soft tortillas. Toppings can include but aren't limited to:

refried beans

cheese

lettus

tomato

sour cream

guacamole

olives

Enjoy :)

Spaghetti and meatballs

I love spaghetti. I used to make it with ground beef but my husband said he didn't like spaghetti so I didn't make it as often as I'd like. Then, after about 2 years, we figured out he just didn't like spaghetti with meat sauce but spaghetti with meatballs is so much better.Now I make it whenever I'm in the mood and he never has to make something else for himself for dinner.  

• 1/2 Walmart brand whole wheat spaghetti (trust me the whole wheat tastes good in spaghetti other kinds of noodles... you have to be more careful)
• 1/2 can tomato sauce
• 1/2 can Italian diced tomatoes
• 1/4 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 20 (give or take) Walmart brand Italian meatballs

Directions: (not that you really need them)
Cook spaghetti like it says on the package (10 minutes or something).
While that's cooking get your sauce ready. Start heating up the meatballs in the microwave by themselves for about 4 minutes stirring after each minute. Then you can either add them to the sauce on the stove or put the sauce in with the meatballs to heat up in the microwave. I prefer the stove. Add your seasonings however it tastes best to you and serve. If you want to punch up the healthyness throw in a hanful of frozen chopped spinach to the noodle water the last 5 minutes it's cooking and when you or your kiddos eat it you wont even taste it it just blends in with the basil.
This makes enough for us to eat for dinner and both take for lunch the next day.

Scratch brownies

Have you ever looked at the ingredients label on the boxes brownies or cakes? I don't know why but I just don't like when I can't even pronounce whats on there. I'm still looking for a good cake recipe but I finally found a delicious brownie recipe. Not to cakey fluffy, dense but not too solid. Quite literally the perfect replacement for the boxed stuff.


Ingredients:
1/2 c melted butter
1 egg (eggs make them fluffy so if yours are too fluffy use a smaller egg or less egg white)
1Tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla (go ahead and use the immitation but I prefer the real stuff it just tastes better)
1/2 cup flour (if you are feeling ambitious use 1/4c wheat flour1/4c all purpose flour like I do. Just don't tell my husband)
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup cocoa powder

Put 1 stick (1/2 cup) of butter in the microwave or one the stove and get it mostly melted then stir in the egg, oil, and vanilla. They say it helps so mix together the dry ingredients seperatly and then slowly add in the wet ingredient mix but I am way to lazy busy efficient for that. Just add in all the dry ingredients and stir. I just use a spoon because it takes just that much longer to get out the hand mixer and wash the beaters when you are done. Since we melted the butter everything still gets mixed together well. You only have to stir for about 30 seconds. Pour the mixture into a greased/ oiled/ sprayed 8"x8" pan and bake for 25-30 minutes at 325'