Summer Dinner/Dessert Ideas

I have a few recipes I’m going to try this week.  I always love getting ideas from people – I think the hardest part of cooking is coming up with the ideas.  Here are a few:

You’ll Need:
Chuck roast

3 cans Cream of Golden Mushroom soup
1 package of dry onion soup
2-3 potatoes
2 cups mini carrots
Half an onion (optional)
Flour and oil for prep cooking

Directions:
I rinse the meat then pat it dry.  Place in a gallon bag that has about 1-2 cups of flour in it with salt and pepper.  Shake it up so the meat is covered in flour.  Sear the meat in hot oil in frying pan.  Flip on all sides to sear each side.  You’re not cooking it, just browning it.  It will be slightly crispy on the outside layer.  Place in crock pot.  Cut up potatoes in bite sizes and onions in quarter moon shapes.  Pour potatoes, onions, and carrots all over crock pot.  The onions really only add flavor.  Mix 3 cans of soup with the dry onion soup.  Pour all over meat in crock pot (I pour a little of this soup on bottom before the meat goes in).  I set it on low for 9 hours.  Mine automatically shifts to warm once it’s done.  If the cut of meat is thinner I would probably do it for less time. 
*I got the searing part and cream of golden mushroom from my assistant principal Holly!  Thanks Holly!

You’ll Need:
Box of penne pasta – I use Barilla Whole Grain
Pint of Heavy Whipping Cream
Couple handfuls of shredded parmesean cheese
Dash or two of cayenne pepper (I don’t like it super spicy so I just use a dash)
Green Pepper
Half a large onion or one small onion
Tomato
Additional veggies you can use – mushrooms, green onion, red pepper
2 grilled chicken breasts – I used to cut up raw chicken and cook it in the pan while making this, but it’s much better if you grill the chicken first and then just cut it up and add it to the pasta last minute.

Directions:
Grill chicken so it’s ready (my hubby will do this while I make the pasta, but you can grill it the night before or whenever).  Boil pasta in water.  Be careful cooking whole grain pasta – too long will make it mushy.  Cut up all your veggies the size you want and saute in a little bit of olive oil (tbsp or so) on medium heat – you can always add more, but it’s hard to take it away 🙂  DON’T saute tomatoes yet!!!  Keep those to the side.  Pour in the heavy cream and stir around until it’s creamy basically.  You may want to turn up the heat a little so it cooks more, but not too high so you burn it.  Stir frequently.  Feels like it will take forever to thicken, but it does.  Add a handful of cheese about 4 minutes after you’ve poured the cream in.  Keep stirring and add more cheese once it has started to thicken.  Cheese helps it thicken a little too.  May take 10-15 minutes to thicken.  Once it becomes a sauce, add cayenne pepper.  Stir.  Add chicken.  Then add pasta.  DON’T add all the pasta at once.  You want enough pasta so that the sauce covers it, but not too much pasta that the dish is dry.  I usually never use the entire box I cooked.  I usually use about 3/4 of it.  NOW add tomatoes (I lay them on paper towel so the juice comes out a little before I add them.  Also if you are using green onions, add them the same time you add the tomatoes)!  Top it off with more cheese and/or cayenne if you like it spicy!  This is one of my husband’s favorites!
*This recipe is inspired from Chili’s cajun chicken pasta – pretty darn close!

You’ll Need:
2 cans of diced chicken (larger cans)
2 cans Veg-all
1 can cream of mushroom
1 can cream of chicken
Frozen pie crust – I use deep dish.  It should come 2 to a package

Directions:
Bake one of the pie crusts in oven at 375 for about 5 minutes so it cooks a little.  Add all the canned items together and mix.  Once pie crust is cooked a little, pour the mixture into the crust.  Take the other crust (make sure it’s thawed) and roll it out so it’s smooth.  Cut it into inch strips and criss cross them over the top of the pie/mixture.  You can just lay the whole pie crust on top instead of the strips, but I think the criss cross works better.  Bake in oven at 375 for 30 minutes. 
*I’ve never actually cooked this.  The recipe is from my mom and she does it on 350 degrees.  I’m going to try 375 because my husband does not like chicken pot pie because he thinks it’s too doughy, so I want to make sure it comes out crispy and flakey.  400 degrees would probably work too. 

You’ll Need:
1 can of frozen lemonade
1 can of sweetened condensed milk (I’m using fat free)
1 graham cracker pie crust
cool whip

Directions:
Mix lemonade and milk together.  Pour into crust and place in freezer.  Put cool whip on it before you serve.  SO EASY!
*This recipe is from my mom and aunt!

You’ll Need:
1/2 cup oil
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
4 mashed bananas (I use old bananas that I have placed in freezer that have browned…you want them REALLY ripe – if they come from freezer though, make sure they are thawed obviously so you can mash)
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
buttermilk (I use 1/2 cup milk with 1 tsp vinegar) or 1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 tsp baking soda

Directions:
If using buttermilk, combine milk and vinegar and let stand together until ready to use.  Cream the oil, sugar, and eggs together.  Add the mashed bananas, salt, vanilla, and flour into creamy mixture.  Get milk/vinegar mixture and add 1 tsp baking soda to it and pour into batter.  It is supposed to foam, but mine never does (my mom’s does…we can’t figure it out).  Pour the batter into 2 greased loaf pans.  Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.  Check with toothpick to see if it’s cooked all the way through.   
*This recipe is my mom’s!  So good and you don’t ever waste any bananas that have gone bad.  Another one of my husband’s favorites!