10 Minute Appetizer 3-Ways

Ingredients:

1 pkg. (8 oz.) softened cream cheese and 1/2 cup whip dressing 

Mix & match your recipe from these options...

1/2 cup Chunky Salsa

1 cup chopped tomatoes

1 cup shredded lettuce 

1 cup Mexican Style shredded cheese

1 cup chopped tomatoes 

1 cup chopped cucumbers

1/4 cup chopped black olives 

1 cup crumbled Feta Cheese with Garlic & Herb

1/4 cup pesto 

1/4 cup chopped artichokes

1 cup chopped roasted red peppers

1 cup shredded Italian cheese

1/2 cup spaghetti or pizza sauce

1/4 cup chopped Pepperoni

1/2 cup chopped green peppers

1 cup shredded Italian cheese

Mix cream cheese and dressing until blended; spread onto serving dish.

Add toppings.

Sprinkle with 1 cup cheese.

Serve with crackers or fresh vegetables.

Crockpot Italian Chicken

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts
1 packet dry Zesty Italian dressing
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1-2 cans cream of chicken soup (depending how much sauce you want)

Place the chicken in a crockpot and sprinkle Italian dressing over it.
Combine cream cheese and cream of chicken soup in a small pot over low heat and pour over chicken. Cook on low in the crockpot for at least 4 hours. You can leave it in there all day.
Once chicken is done you can leave the chicken breasts whole, cube it, or even shred it.
Once you have cut up the chicken, throw it back in the crockpot and stir into the sauce. If you feel the sauce is too thick you can thin it to your preferred consistency with a little milk.
Serve over pasta or rice.

From: The Girl Who Ate Everything

Crock Pot Spinach & Ricotta Lasagna

Serves 6| Hands-On Time: 15m | Total Time: 4hr 15m

Ingredients
2 10-ounce packages chopped frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed to remove excess moisture
1 cup ricotta
3/4 cup grated Parmesan (3 ounces)
3 cups marinara sauce
6 regular lasagna noodles (not no-boil)
1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella (6 ounces)

Directions
In a bowl, mix together the spinach, ricotta, and ½ cup of the Parmesan. In a second bowl, mix together the marinara sauce and ½ cup water.
Spread ¾ cup of the marinara mixture in the bottom of a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker. Top with 2 noodles (breaking to fit), ¾ cup of the remaining marinara mixture, half the spinach mixture, and ½ cup of the mozzarella; repeat. Top with the remaining noodles, marinara mixture, mozzarella, and Parmesan.
Cover and cook on low until the noodles are tender, 3 ½ to 4 hours.

From Real Simple

Traditional Zucchini Pasta

2 lbs zucchini, sliced into 1/4 in discs
4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
4 fresh basil leaves, torn
1 lb penne pasta, cooked and drained
1 cup smoked Provolone, cut into small cubes
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Place zucchini discs into a colander, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes to drain excess liquid.

Add olive oil and garlic to large saucepan. Cook over low flame until garlic is golden brown. Stir in zucchini, basil and a pinch of salt. Cover and let simmer for 5 minutes.

Add cooked pasta to the saucepan. Stir well and cook over low heat until warmed through. Stir in Provolone.

Remove from heat, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve.

Bisquick Breading (Yes the pancake mix)

Use for chicken, fish, porkchops, etc.

Basic Coating

Mix:
2/3 cup Original Bisquick Mix
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Coat:
2 1/2 lbs cut up chicken or
1 lb fish filets or
1 1/2 lbs porkchops

Melt 1 tbsp butter in a 13 x 9 inch glass baking dish. Bake at 425 degrees.

Bake Times:

Chicken: Bake 50 minutes, skin side down, turning chicken after 35 minutes, until juices run clear and chicken is no longer pink when centers of thickest pieces are cut.

Fish: Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

Pork: Bake 50 minutes, turning pork chops after 25 minutes, until no longer pink when centers of thickest pieces are cut.

Coating Variations:

Asian:  Omit paprika and pepper.  Add 3 tbsp sesame seed, 1 tbsp lemon zest, 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder, and 1 tbsp soy sauce.

Italian: Add 1 tbsp Italian seasoning and 1/2 tsp garlic powder.

Mexican: Decrease Bisquick mix to 1/2 cup. Add 2 tbsp cornmeal and 1 to 2 tbsp chili powder.

Summer Herb: Add 1 tbsp each chopped fresh basil, parsley & rosemary.

Make it a meal with: Green Beans with Pecans & Lemon, 7UP Biscuits, and Microwave Cake in a Mug

Italian Baked Chicken

1/4 c zesty Italian salad dressing
2 c Italian seasoned bread crumbs
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
Olive oil cooking spray

Marinade chicken in Italian dressing in refrigerator for 1 hour to overnight.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place bread crumbs in shallow dish.
Take chicken from marinade and coat in bread crumbs.
Arrange the chicken on a cooking rack placed on top of a cookie sheet.
Spray the chicken lightly with the cooking spray and bake until golden brown and centers are no longer pink, about 20 minutes.

This goes great on top of pasta with marinara sauce and sprinkled with shredded parmesan cheese.