Mozzarella Sticks

On Christmas Eve we decided to give these a try. They are so delicious at restaurants and I wanted to see if we could reproduce the taste. Wow!!! These were so gooey and delicious. We fried ours, but I bet you could bake them and still have excellent results, I will try that next time. A 16 oz. brick of cheese made 20 sticks. Serve with a marinara sauce. Wouldn't these be fun for your next party?

Husband Rating: 5 stars

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

2 eggs

1/2 tsp. garlic salt

16 oz mozzarella cheese

Oil for frying

Slice brick of cheese into 20 equal strips. In a shallow bowl beat eggs. In another bowl stir together the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and garlic salt to blend. Dip the cheese in the egg mixture, then dip into the bread crumb mixture. Pat with your fingers to get the crumbs to stick. Place the cheese sticks on a baking sheet. Repeat the dipping process in the egg and breading mixture to coat the cheese a second time. Cover and freeze for at least 2 hours, but not more than 2 days. Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Fry the cheese until golden brown, about 1 minute on each side. Serve with marinara sauce.

Here's what the cheese looks like right before I put it in the freezer:

Soft Tacos

Mmm, soft tacos. This recipe is so easy to throw together and husband always enjoys. You can have fun with the toppings too; like if I have leftovers olives, green onions, guacamole, salsa or nacho cheese you can always dump it on top. I like to warm my tortillas up on a skillet so they are warm and crispy, versus the soggy microwave variety. I have pre-portioned chunks of ground beef in my freezer, so I just grab them out and put them right in the pan to cook. This meal requires no forethought - love that! And seriously, who doesn't love a soft taco?

Husband Rating: 4 stars

8 oz. ground beef
6 tortillas
2 Tbsp. taco seasoning
2 Tbsp. diced onion
Toppings: Lettuce, sour cream, diced tomatoes, grated cheese, salsa, etc.

Cook ground beef in a skillet over medium heat. Drain any grease. Stir in diced onion and taco seasoning. If dry, add 1 Tbsp. of water. Place a spoonful of taco meat in the center of a warmed tortilla and layer with toppings. Roll and serve.

Sharing

We are moving in 2 months. I keep looking around my little office wondering what to keep and what to get rid of. I'm in major spring-cleaning-de-clutter-garbage mode. I'm sick of moving things that we don't use, but I hate getting rid of things that I might need. I would love to reduce my cluttery office to 3 or 4 super cute totes.

In the meantime, I've been making some printables for primary. On Sunday I taught the children about how Jesus Christ is our older brother, and He is the Son of God. That makes us royal children of God. This is was our coloring activity, the children drew on jewels and shapes.

Several weeks ago I needed dice for the children to roll during a game. All the dice I had were tiny, I wanted something big and visible. I made this cutie pie, the instructions are attached. I printed it on cardstock, cut and folded and vuualah!

Oh what a deal meal!

Dinner was delicious last night, I can't stop talking about it. Is your mouth watering yet? I'm just so proud of my good deals, and my savings turned in to a wonderful meal. I just have to share!

For the recipe of Crunchy Honey Dijon Chicken click here or see the recipe index at the top.

This is the regular cost of the meal, with no sales or coupons:

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast: $3.99/lb (one pound used)

Fresh Express Caesar Salad (with dressing, croutons, cheese): $3.99

Betty Crocker Butter and Herb Potatoes: $2.19

Total: $10.17 (plus 75 cents for milk, mustard, butter and extra ingredients)

= $10.92 or $2.73 per serving

Here's how I did by combining sales and coupons:

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast: $1.88/lb on sale

Fresh Express Caesar Salad: $1.88 with coupon

Betty Crocker Butter and Herb Potatoes: $ .38 with sale and coupon

Total: $4.14 (plus 75 cents for milk, mustard, butter and extra ingredients)

= $4.89 or $1.22 per serving

And who said math wasn't fun?

Crunchy Honey-Dijon Chicken

Oh, what a delicious dinner. I am so hooked on honey dijon mustard. It's surprisingly light, still creamy and delicious in dinner recipes. The boneless skinless chicken breasts that I bought at Albertsons were kind of fat, so I sliced each one in half through the middle. They were thin and easier to work with, plus they cooked very quickly. So this recipe made 4 pieces of chicken, although it was 2 large chicken breasts. I buy the off-brand cheapest corn flakes available for homemade bread crumbs, they are yummy and crunchy, but don't buy anything fancy. Enjoy every bite:)

Husband Rating: 5 stars

2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts (sliced in half, or 4 small)
1 1/2 cups corn flakes
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
3 Tbsp. Honey Dijon Mustard
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/8 tsp. Thyme

Preheat oven to 400. In a shallow dish stir together melted butter and honey dijon mustard. Sprinkle in thyme. In a ziploc bag crush corn flakes, I used a rolling pin on top of the sealed bag. Stir in Parmesan cheese. Dip each piece of chicken in butter/mustard mixture and then place in bag. Seal and shake to coat. Layer into a lightly greased dish and bake for 20 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink and breading is lightly toasted.

Chewy Granola Brownies

I'll admit I was a little nervous throwing this recipe together. I have a box of granola in the pantry, but I'm the only one who dares go near. I got this idea from our dear friends at bettycrocker.com, so when I had to make a dessert for a friend who just had a baby, I thought it was the perfect chance to give it a go. I used Kashi granola with almonds, it kept its crunch and was delicious. Betty Crocker has the "supreme brownies" in a Turtle variety, that's what I used here. It included walnuts in the batter and it comes with a package of caramel to squeeze on top. If you just have regular brownies, throw in some extra nuts and use ice cream caramel to drizzle on top. I wasn't at home when husband tried the brownies, but he mentioned as soon as I walked in the door how delicious they were. I told him later it was granola, he said he would never have guessed and I'm "allowed" to make them again. Success!

Husband Rating: 4 1/2 stars

1 box brownie mix
Ingredients called for in brownie mix (egg, water, oil)
1 1/2 cups granola
1/4 cup chocolate chips
4-5 Tbsp. caramel

Mix brownie batter according to package directions and spread into 13x9 baking pan. Scatter granola on top of brownie batter evenly. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Drizzle with caramel. Bake according to package, until brownies are done. Enjoy!

Bowtie Alfredo with Blackened Chicken

Oh alfredo, how I love you! We are pasta fans, no doubt about it. I love bowtie noodles because they hold the sauce so good. I have been making this recipe for years, it's the easiest way to get a creamy alfredo sauce that is perfect every time. There are lots of great sauces that use cream or half and half, but sometimes they end up too thin. I used this sauce with my beginning cooking students (picture high school freshman boys here) and it was always successful. I've made lots of swaps over the years with whole wheat noodles, low fat cream cheese, etc, but this is the basic recipe, swap as you wish. I use just a few sprinkles of Cajun seasoning for the blackened chicken, I'm kind of a wimp when it comes to heat. If you're feeling brave lay it on!

Husband Rating: 5 stars

1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese
3 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp onion, diced small
1 cup chicken broth
4 cups bowtie noodles
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 Tbsp. Cajun seasoning
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. butter
1 roma tomato, diced (to garnish)

Boil and cook bowtie noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, slice chicken into thin strips. Drizzle oil in a skillet over medium heat and add chicken. Sprinkle evenly with Cajun seasoning and cook until chicken is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and keep warm. Melt butter in skillet over medium heat. Add minced garlic and onion. Saute until tender. Pour in 1 cup of chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and slowly add cream cheese. (I usually cut brick of cream cheese into 16-20 pieces and drop them in one by one here). With a wire whisk, soften and smooth cheese. When sauce is smooth, add Parmesan cheese. Spoon over bowtie noodles, add chicken and use tomatoes for garnish. Enjoy!