My life as I know it

Chicken Tortilla Soup   ( allrecipes.com ) Prep Time: 30 Min Cook Time: 30 Min Ready In: 1 Hr Ingredients 1 -2 pound s skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded 3 10.75 ounce cans cream of chicken soup 3 14.5 ounce cans chicken broth 3 14.5 ounce cans diced tomatoes, drained 1-3 4.25 ounce cans chilies, drained 1 10 ounce package frozen corn, thawed 2 cup s uncooked brown rice 1 -3 15 ounce cans black beans, drained and rinsed Garlic salt to taste Cumin to taste Chili powder to taste  Light sour cream (optional) Shredded cheese - mexican or cheddar are good (optional) Tortilla chips/strips...

Tortellini and Garden Vegetable Bake ( bhg.com ) Prep Time: 30 Min Cook Time: 30 Min Ready In: 1 Hr Ingredients 1 16-ounce package refrigerated tortellini 1 medium carrot, thinly sliced 1 1/2 cups sugar snap peas, halved 1 tablespoon margarine or butter (optional) 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces 1 cup chopped fresh broccoli 1/3 cup chicken broth 2 tablespoons snipped fresh oregano or 1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano, crushed ...

Mexican Stuffed Peppers (allrecipes.com) Prep Time: 15 Min Cook Time: 1 Hr Ready In: 1 Hr 15 Min Ingredients 1 pound ground turkey 1 (1 ounce) package low-sodium taco seasoning mix 3/4 cup water 2 teaspoons chili powder 2 cups cooked brown rice 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper 2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce, divided 4 large red bell peppers 1 cup shredded cheese (cheddar or mexican blend are both great) Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish. Place ground turkey into a skillet on medium heat and brown the meat, breaking it apart into crumbles as it cooks.  In another pot, boil water an...

Stuffed Green Peppers Prep Time: 30 Min Cook Time: 30 Min Ready In: 1 Hr Ingredients 6 green bell peppers salt to taste 1 pound ground beef 1/3 cup chopped onion salt and pepper to taste 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce 3/4 cup uncooked rice 1/2 cup water 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese 2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed tomato soup water as needed Directions Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cut the tops off the peppers, and remove the seeds. Cook peppers in boiling water for 5 minutes; drain. Sprinkle salt and cheese inside each pepper, and set aside. In a large skillet, saute beef, onions and 1 tsp. of Worcester...

Brownie 'n Berries Dessert Pizza Prep Time: 20 Min Cook Time: 20 Min Ready In: 2 Hr 40 Min Ingredients 1 box Betty Crocker® brownie mix Butter and eggs called for on brownie mix box 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened 1/3 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 2 cups sliced fresh strawberries 1 cup fresh blueberries 1 cup fresh raspberries 1/2 cup apple jelly Directions Heat oven to 350°F (or 325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease bottom only of 12-inch pizza pan with cooking spray or shortening. In large bowl, stir brownie mix, butter and eggs until well blended. Spread in pan. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted 2 inches from side of pan comes out clean or almost clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour. In small bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Spread mixture evenly over brownie base. Arrange berries over cream cheese mixture. Stir jelly until smooth; brush over berries. Refrigerate about 1 ho...

One of these days I will make sure I actually have all of the ingredients necessary for a recipe before I start cooking. I make assumptions that I have certain ingredients before going grocery shopping and never double-check to make sure my assumption was correct and then the next thing you know I have a hot stove and a recipe started with missing ingredients. Sometimes I get lucky and it's something as simple as milk or an egg and my wonderful neighbors are there to help me out. Tonight, however, I need 1/4 cup of Teriyaki sauce. Not something that the neighbors are likely to have on hand and/or want to share 1/4 a cup of. I would just skip it or try to substitute it with something else but it's a pretty major ingredient in this recipe which is titled, "Orange Teriyaki Beef." There are only three major ingredients and I'm missing one of them. You would have thought a three-ingredient recipe would have warranted a double-check that I actually have all three ingr...

Six Can Chicken Tortilla Soup Prep Time: 5 Min Cook Time: 15 Min Ready In: 20 Min             Ingredients 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained 2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth 1 (10 ounce) can chunk chicken 1 (15 ounce) can black beans 1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chile peppers, drained Directions Open the cans of corn, chicken broth, chunk chicken, black beans, and diced tomatoes with green chilies. Pour everything into a large saucepan or stock pot. Simmer over medium heat until chicken is heated through.  -------------------------------------------------------- I LOVE soup. I could eat soup all year round, but I realize it's much better during the cold winter months. I know the cold weather won't be around much longer (we hope, right?) so I need to get all the soups and stews out of my system before it's too ...

Creamy Potato Lasagna Prep Time: 25 Min Cook Time: 1 Hr 10 Min Ready In: 1 Hr 35 Min       Ingredients 1 (12 ounce) jar Alfredo sauce 1 cup milk 3 pounds potatoes, peeled and sliced lengthwise about 1/8 inch thick 5 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 1/2 cups diced ham 1 (10 ounce) package chopped frozen broccoli, thawed 2 cups shredded Swiss cheese Directions Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. In a medium bowl, whisk together the Alfredo sauce and milk. Spread 1/4 cup of the sauce in the bottom of the baking dish. Then layer 1/3 of the potatoes over the sauce in the dish. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of Parmesa...

  Cheese Garlic Biscuits Prep Time: 10 Min  Cook Time: 15 Min Ready In: 25 Min Ingredients 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 5 tablespoons butter 1 cup milk 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese 1/4 cup butter, melted 1 clove garlic, minced Directions Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). In a large bowl, sift together flour, salt and baking powder. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center of flour mixture. Add the milk and cheddar cheese; stir to combine. Drop batter by spoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Whil...

This looks like a pretty darn good meal, if I do say so myself (and I do) Dinner Party Chicken   Thanks to my Aunt Molly for providing me with this awesome recipe and for granting me permission to share it on my blog!         Ingredients 2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in halves 8 slices Swiss cheese (we use provolone or mozzarella) 1 can cream of chicken soup (we use reduced fat) 8 oz. sour cream (we use light) 4 Tbsp. butter, melted 1 1/2 C. stuffing crumbs (we bought the herb seasoned stuffing) Directions Place chicken in bottom of 9x13 baking dish. Cover with a layer of Swiss cheese slices.  Mix together cream of chicken soup and sour cream; spread mixture on top of Swiss cheese slices.  Mix together melted butter and stuffing crumbs; sprinkle moistened stuffing crumbs on top of entire dish.  Bake, covered, at 350 for 45 minutes; uncover and bake 15 minutes more. Serves ...

Since I didn't host Thanksgiving or cook a turkey, I feel bad making the claim that I was a "Thanksgiving cooking machine," but I'm going to say it anyway. I was a Thanksgiving cooking machine! I surprisingly was off the day before Thanksgiving (didn't think I would be until Tuesday night) so I took full advantage of the day! I didn't sleep in (in my book, anyway, although it's all relative) and I didn't sit down all day long, not even to eat lunch because I forgot to eat lunch! I made several new recipes that day, hopefully you will consider it as a make-up for many weeks lost in the new recipe department. First I made... Iced Pumpkin Cookies I didn't miss lunch because I was eating these cookies as I made them. At first I thought they were delicious (because I was starving) and then, when I wasn't hungry anymore I became unsure about them. I planned to double the recipe but didn't because I...

I wrote the blog below on October 19, 2010. Why it stayed in "draft" form, I'm not quite sure but it's time to set it free. Enjoy. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ingredients 1 (50 ounce) can whole cooked chicken, drained, bones and skin removed 2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of chicken soup 1 1/8 cups water 1 (8 ounce) package dry bread stuffing mix 6 hamburger buns, split Directions Shred chicken, and place in a large pot or slow cooker. Stir in soup and water. Stir in the seasoning mix from the stuffing, and then stir in the dry stuffing mix. Cook over medium heat until heated through. Spoon onto buns, and serve. I realize I am long overdue for a new recipe of the week. I'...

Epic fail. That's all there is to say. Okay, fine. I'll explain. The nacho dogs ( recipe here ) were a disaster from start to finish. Actually, I was doomed before I even started because as soon as I read the line, "a great recipe for kids to cook," all I could think about was screwing up a recipe that was so easy a "kid could do it." I didn't find it to be all that easy. Whether or not it should have been is another story. The first step was as simple as opening the croissants and getting them out of the packaging. I'm not going to lie. I always get nervous when I'm opening the biscuits and croissants packaging because I know it's going to "pop open" when you least expect it. Tonight I was like Will Ferrell as Buddy the Elf when he's turning the jack-in-the-box and nervously waiting for it to pop open. And just like the movie goes, when it didn't immediately pop open, I was convinced that it wasn't going to. I thought...

Whip up an easy skillet dinner with a hearty combo of chicken, potatoes and veggies. Prep Time: 10 min Cook Time: 30 min Total Time: 45 min Makes: 4 servings 1 box (4.5 oz) Betty Crocker® loaded baked potatoes 1 1/4 cups boiling water 1 3/4 cups milk 2 tablespoons butter or margarine ...

Easy Roasted Red Pepper Hummus Ingredients 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained 1/3 cup tahini 1/3 cup lemon juice 1/2 cup roasted red peppers 1/4 teaspoon dried basil Directions In an electric food processor, combine garlic, garbanzo beans, tahini, and lemon juice. Process until the mixture is smooth. Add roasted peppers and basil; process until the peppers are finely chopped. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer hummus to small bowl, cover and chill until you are ready to serve. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ So my new recipe for this week (I know, I've taken a few weeks off) was hummus. I'm not sure how or why I decided I wanted ...

You wanted to see the burnt bread that caused so much ruckus at the Robinson household so here you go. I believe it was the sandwich on the right that, moments after this photo was taken, caused me to lose my tooth. Okay, let's be honest. Of course it wasn't the bread's fault that I was negligent and let it burn. And it certainly wasn't the bread who said, "Hey you. Yeah, you with the thousands of dollars worth of dental work. Sink those money pits right into me and find out if I'm really as burnt as I look." No, I can assure you that's not how it happened. If the bread really did start talking to me, there's no way I would have ever bit into it and I never would have lost my tooth. So, maybe it was the bread's fault after all. Just in case you would like to give this recipe a try, you can find it here: Grilled double cheese and bacon sandwiches .

...then get out of the kitchen! And I'm beginning to think I should. I don't know what exactly happened. All of the recipes I've been trying have been going so well and blogging about them has been really fun. Maybe with all the blogging feedback and positive reviews on the new dishes at recent cookouts, it started to go to my head. Maybe I got a little cocky. Maybe I haven't been concentrating enough while I'm in the kitchen. Whatever is going on, starting with yesterday's new recipe I've been on a downward spiral that carried over to tonight. I still plan on posting each of the recipes I have tried (and failed) but I thought it might be beneficial for me to do one quick wrap-up of the trial and tribulations I've had over the last two nights and then go into the specifics with each recipe in separate posts. Last night I tried to make Grilled Double-Cheese and Bacon Sandwiches with a side of "Healthified" Cheesy Potatoes . Everything was goi...