Lemon Parmesan Kale Salad

Mom Comment: Hale the Kale. (This one has major buzz right now, so I thought I'd post for all to enjoy!). 2 suggestions are to chop the kale as fine as possible or use a Cuisinart. I also like the added flavor of chopped green onions added to this.

Source: Gimme Some Oven

Ingredients:

• 3 cups chopped fresh kale
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• pinch of salt and freshly-ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup freshly-grated Parmesan
• 1/4 cup toasted bread crumbs (optional)

Welcome to our Recipe Blog - These Moms Can Cook!

Some friends and I had been talking forever about creating a monthly recipe club to share our tested, tried & true recipes that we make and love, so that we don't have to deal with making the same old recipes each week.

Well, finally - here we are - a recipe blog just for us working moms (or dad's) who don't have the time to mess around with recipes that may - or may not - turn out.

These are our May Recipes - you can view them all below or on the May Recipes tab.

Enjoy!

Creamy Lemon Rice

Mom Comment: This is my favorite rice. ... great with chicken our anything on the grill. You can eliminate the cream and it is still good.

Yield: 8-10 servings

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter 
• 2 cups white rice
• Grated zest of 2 lemons (I usually do 3-4 lemons because I like it lemony)
• 3 cups chicken broth, boiling (I also just use water and its still really good)
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 TBS fresh lemon juice (I add a little more)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• Freshly ground pepper

Gourmet Grilled Cheese

Mom Comment:  You have to know I have a love affair with cheese. Any cheese, really. I’m an equal opportunity cheese eater. So, it should come as no surprise that my first submission is all about cheese. In fact, most of my submissions will likely have cheese in them. Hope that’s okay. There is nothing healthy about this recipe except for the wheat bread, and any health benefit is pretty well cancelled out by the butter and cheese.

Yield: Makes 4 sandwiches

Ingredients:

• 8 slices of  wheat bread (something like Oroweat)
• butter
• 4 slices of Jarlsberg
• 4 slices of a double-cream Gouda
• 4 slices of Gruyere
• 1 or 2 ripe, Summer tomatoes (optional)

Greek Salad in a Whole-Grain Sandwich

Mom Comment: I eat anything with Feta.

Source: Diane Kochilas

Yield: Makes 8 sandwiches

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cups seeded and finely diced cucumber
• 1-1/4 cups seeded and finely diced tomatoes
• 3/4 cup crumbled feta
• 4 radishes, trimmed and thinly sliced
• 4 – 8 pepperocini, seeded and chopped or sliced
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin Greek olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Greek red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon dried Greek oregano
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 8 medium (6- to 7-inch) whole-wheat or regular pitas, warmed, or 4 large bread rolls or other sandwich breads
• 4 cups lightly packed fresh baby spinach leaves or arugula
• 8 tablespoons Kalamata or green olive tapenade

Frank's® Red Hot® Buffalo Chicken Dip

Mom Comment: Not my own recipe but one of my favorite recipes.  

Source: AllRecipes

Yield: 4 Cups

Ingredients:

• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese,softened
• 1/2 cup blue cheese salad dressing
• 1/2 cup Frank's® RedHot® Original
• Cayenne Pepper Sauce or Frank's®
• RedHot® Buffalo Wing Sauce
• 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese or shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 (9.75 ounce) cans Swanson®
• Premium Chunk Chicken Breast in Water,drained
• Assorted fresh vegetables or crackers

Easy Chicken & Cheese Enchiladas

Mom Comment: I saw this on a can of Campbell’s soup and thought I’d give it a try.  It was super simple and the results from my boys:  “Mom this is the best meal you’ve ever made”…I’ve been making ever since. 

Source: Campbell's Kitchen

Yield: Serves 6, 1 enchilada 

Ingredients:

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup (Regular or 98% Fat Free)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup Pace® Picante Sauce
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
6 flour tortillas (6-inch), warmed
1 small tomato, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1 green onion, sliced (about 2 tablespoons)

Cherry Dump Cake

Mom Comment: Recently my mom was coming over for dinner and she has an extreme sweet tooth. It was a last minute gathering and I didn’t have time to run to the store to get items, so I opened up my pantry and saw two main ingredients and the third was in the fridge…butter! I got this recipe from a friend a long time ago…she calls it cherry dump cake.

Ingredients:

• 2 cans of pie filling  (I use cherry)
• 1 box yellow cake mix  
• 1 stick of butter 

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a 9x13 pan, put two cans of cherry pie filling (I think you could use any fruit pie filling…I’ve only tried cherry),  on top of the pie filling, place 1 yellow cake mix  on top.  Then cut up 1 stick of butter into pads and place on top of the cake mix. 

Cook for 1 hour. Serve with vanilla ice cream!

Source: Susan

Submitted by: Susan S. 

Baked Artichoke Chicken

Mom Comment: This is not a quick recipe, takes about an hour, but it is delicious!

from Stacey Snacks

Makes 4-6 servings.

• 4 lbs. chicken legs and thighs, w/ skin (I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts)
• 1 cup artichoke hearts, halved (canned is fine)
• 1 medium onion, cut into pieces same size as the artichokes
• 1 pound white button mushrooms (halved or quartered)
• 2 tablespoons brown mustard
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup red or white wine (I’ve used white wine and I’ve used chicken broth and both tasted the same)
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon
• 1 bay leaf
• salt and pepper (to taste)

Chicken and White Bean Enchiladas with Creamy Green Chile Sauce

Mom Comment: I love this chicken and white bean enchilada recipe because it’s a little different, but everyone loves – kid and hubby. It doesn’t take a long time and I know that I am serving something that won’t be an issue with anyone at the table. This recipe is also very easy to modify.

from SkinnyTaste.com

Makes 8 servings. Serving Size: 1 enchilada 

For the Chicken and White Bean Filling: (If you don’t like beans – it still tastes yummy without or I have used Blackbeans)

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup minced white onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can (4.5 oz) chopped green chiles
• 15.5 oz can Navy beans (or Cannellini beans)
• 8 oz cooked shredded chicken breast
• 1/3 can water
• 1 chicken bullion
• 1 tsp cumin

Company's Coming Pot Roast (Slow Cooker)

Mom Comment: This was a new twist on a pot roast.  My family loved it and it was pretty healthy and easy to make.

Makes 8 servings and is ideal in a 4 or 5 quart slow cooker (I used my 6 quart and it was fine.)

3-lb. boneless pot roast (I used a chuck roast.)

2 Tbsp. flour

1 Tbsp.  prepared mustard

1 Tbsp. chili sauce

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. red cider vinegar (I couldn’t find this so I used red wine vinegar.)

1 tsp. sugar (I used 1 packet of Truvia)

4 potatoes, sliced

2 onions, sliced (I used one large onion)

Chocolate Biscoff Cheesecake Bars

Mom Comment: If you've ever flown Delta, you will recognized these yummy cookies!  If not, you are in for a treat.  There is nothing healthy about this, but its yummy. Courtesy of Bakerella - great blog!

From: Bakerella

Makes about 30 bars. 

Crust
1 1/2 cups crushed Biscoff Cookies (about 27 cookies)*
3 Tablespoons packed brown sugar
6 Tablespoons melted butter

• Mix cookies and sugar together
• Add butter and stir until combined.
• Press mixture into a 13 X 9 pan. 

Orzo Salad with Feta Vinaigrette

Mom Comment: I make this every Easter and it is a huge hit!

    Source: Lee Harrelson, Cooking Light

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 1/4 cups salad and about 1 tablespoon cheese)

Ingredients:

1 C uncooked orzo

2 C bagged baby spinach, chopped (I usually only use about 1 C b/c I’m not a huge spinach fan)

½ C chopped, drained oil-packed sun-dried tomato halves

3 T chopped red onion

3 T chopped, pitted kalamata olives

½ t black pepper

¼ t salt

1 (6-oz) jar marinated artichoke hearts, undrained

¾ C feta cheese, crumbled and divided

Broiled Salmon

Home Cook Comment: Very quick, delicious and healthy!

• Skinless salmon filets
• Lemon pepper (I use Trader Joe’s)
• Dijon mustard (I’ve used Grey Poupon or Maille)

Prepare fish with lemon pepper and Dijon on one side.(I’ve found using a small amount of the Lemon Pepper and Dijon on each side of the fish tastes best.) Place filets on baking sheet and place under broiler for about 3-5 mins. Flip fish, place lemon pepper and Dijon on other side. Place back under the broiler for another 3-5 mins until desired doneness.

Serve with fresh lemon if desired. Enjoy!

Submitted by: Amy D.