Cheese Crackers

One of the biggest things I miss was my crunch chips or crackers. So, Cheese Crackers to the rescue. This is amazingly simple but so yummy. Just be careful - you might eat several ounces of cheese without realizing it. To me they taste a lot like a cheese-it cracker, but are great for scooping up dips and sauces.

Ingredients:

1 thin slice of cheddar cheese (Deli sliced cheese works best)

Directions:

1. Put slice of cheese on a piece of parchment paper and microwave for 75 seconds or until the cheese has solidified.
2. Remove from parchment paper and let cool for a minute or two.
3. Enjoy!

It's also fun to play with seasoning. I've tried parmesan cheese sprinkled on top, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper, garlic, and many other ideas. You can also try other cheeses for a different flavor. Pepper jack cheese works great as does mozzarella.

Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu

This recipe is a bit of work, but still pretty quick. About 45 minutes start to finish and it is very good. Our whole family likes these.

Ingredients:
1 Egg
1 tbsp water
3/4 cup almonds, finely ground
1 1/2 tsp seasoning salt
1/2 tsp dried parsley flakes
12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs or 6 breasts cut in half
1/4 pound Swiss cheese, cut into 12 slices ( we used provolone and cheddar)
1/3 pound deli-style ham, cut into 12 slices
cooking oil spray

Directions.
1. Combine egg and water in a bowl large enough to dip the chicken in.
2. Combine almonds, seasoning salt, and parsley in another bowl about the same size.
3. Divide cheese and ham into 12 portions.
4. Place chicken thigh or breast on a plate cut side up and place a piece of cheese in the middle of the chicken.
5. Roll up ham and place on top of the cheese and roll up the chicken around the ham and cheese.
6. If needed, use toothpicks to hold the chicken together.
7. Dip chicken into egg mixture, then into almond mixture and place on a baking sheet that has been pre-sprayed with the cooking oil spray.
8. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes or until chicken is done.

That's all there is to it. You can play around with the cheese and ham insides or the almond coating to your liking. We like cheddar or provolone instead of Swiss. I like Parmesan cheese in my coating to give a bit more flavor.

This recipe is from the Extreme LC Meals on the Go cookbook.

Hamburgers and Veggies

Well, this is probably the least technical and defined recipe I've posted yet. I just wing it and it turns out pretty good.

Ingredients:
Green Peppers
Red Peppers
Onions
Zucchini
Butter
Ground Beef
Worcestershire Sauce
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Garlic Powder
Seasoned Salt (The stuff I made here)
Blackened Seasoning
Black Pepper

Directions:
1. Saute Onions, Peppers, and Zucchini in Butter until yummy.
2. Mix the Ground beef, W. Sauce, a hand full of the shredded cheddar cheese, garlic powder, seasoned salt, blackened seasoning, and black pepper together and make burgers.
3. Grill the Burgers. (I usually sear them over high heat, then finish over medium or indirect.)
4. Put on plate, top with whatever you want and enjoy.

Pizza and Poppers

Pizza and Poppers??? Yep, Pizza and Poppers. It's the best Pizza I have ever made and some of the best I've had (outside of my moms and Teds, of course). My jalapeños were too big and I didn't get all the seeds out, but the poppers were good too.

Pizza Ingredients:
3 eggs
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp basil
1 tbsp tomato sauce
+ whatever you want for toppings (We used more mozzarella cheese, mushrooms, and Canadian bacon.)

Directions:
1. Combine mozzarella cheese, eggs, garlic powder, and basil in a bowl and mix very well.
2. Press evenly onto a non-stick (or Pam sprayed) pizza pan or cookie sheet.
3. Bake at 450 until golden brown (about 10 to 15 minutes).
4. Remove the crust from the oven.
5. Spread on the tomato sauce.
6. Add the rest of your toppings.
7. Put pizza under the broiler and broil until cheese is melted and toppings are cooked to your desired done-ness.

Jalapeño Popper Ingredients:
Jalapeño peppers
cream cheese
bacon

Directions:
1. Cut the peppers open and take out the seeds.
2. Fill the peppers with cream cheese (I found some Roka Blue Cream Cheese that was amazing).
3. Wrap the peppers with bacon.
4. Cook the poppers either on the grill or broil them until the bacon is done and the peppers are a bit soft.

The peppers I used were too big, but they didn't have any smaller ones when I was shopping for them.

Both of these recipes were ones I had found online posted by people who pulled them from other people. Not sure who originally came up with the recipe.

Beef Fajitas

A simple beef fajita meal that doesn't take much to prepare, but is very tasty.

Ingredients:

For Marinade:
1/2 cup chicken broth or lite beer
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 small onion, sliced thinly
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic

Rest of Ingredients:
2 lbs of skirt steak or any other steak you want to use.
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced thick
1 green pepper, sliced

Toppings:
Guacamole (We love Wholly Guacamole)
Salsa (Mrs. Renfro's is wonderful and most varieties have no sugar added)
Sour Cream
Cheddar Cheese

Directions:
1. Mix together marinade ingredients.
2. Put steak in a big zip lock bag and marinade in the fridge for a few hours. The tougher the steak, the longer you should let it marinade.
3. When ready to cook, remove steak from bag, saving a few tbsp of the marinade.
4. In a large skillet, heat the oil.
5. Add in steak, peppers, and onion when the oil is hot.
6. When the meat is done and the veggies are tender, add in the reserved marinade.
7. Serve on tortilla or plate and top with the guacamole, salsa, sour cream, and cheese

This recipe was based on one from Dana Carpenders 501 LC Recipes

Note that the tougher the steak, the longer to let it marinade.

Chorizo Omelets

So, what's for breakfast? That's what our family often asks on a Saturday Morning. This breakfast isn't quite so quick, but very tasty. I don't have exact quantities as it will all depend on how you like your omelets.

Ingredients:
Eggs, beaten and mixed with heavy whipping cream or some milk (HWC preferred)
Chorizo, fried up in a separate pan
Red and Green Peppers, chopped and sauteed in butter
Onion, chopped and sauteed in butter
Cheese, whatever kind you want to sprinkle on
Sour Cream
Hot Sauce

Directions:
1. If you can, get the red and green peppers and onions sauteing at the same time. We use our big electric griddle smothered in butter to get them nice and browned.
2. Fry up the chorizo
3. As those are cooking, mix the eggs and HWC (or milk). I usually do about 3 eggs to 1/2 oz to 1 oz of HWC. Too much and it will get runny and not hold the omelet together (that's what happened this morning).
4. Put the eggs on a big flat electric griddle so that the omelet has room to spread out. It makes it nice and thin and you can work with it easily.
5. After the egg sets up a bit, put on the veggies, chorizo, and cheese if you want it in.
6. Wait about a minute and fold over the sides of the eggs and put on more cheese.
7. Scoop off the griddle and plate up. Then top with whatever you want. I put on more veggies and chorizo and some sour cream, cheese, and hot sauce.

Camembert Chicken and Almonds

Ingredients:
4 Chicken Breasts - Pounded flat
8 oz Camembert cheese
1/3 cup sliced almonds
4 scallions sliced up thinly

Directions:
1. Brown one side of the Chicken Breasts.
2. Flip the breasts and layer on the cheese on the top.
3. When the other side is done, top with some almonds (browned in butter) and scallions.

Very simple, yet quite tasty. Feel free to substitute the Camembert cheese with any other kind. We will try provolone next time.

From Dana Carpender 500 LC Recipes Cookbook