A Recipe Even I Couldn't Screw Up...

I love Chicken and Dumplings, but do not have the patience to make it from scratch. Let's face it, I don't have the patience to make ANYTHING from scratch. I've diagnosed myself as having ADHD, and cooking requires to many steps and you have to actually FINISH what you start in order to be considered a "great cook". What was I talking about? Oh, yes, Chicken and Dumplings. I found a great recipe from Foodnetwork.com that Sandra Lee of Semi-Homemade Cooking created that was awesome and totally easy. Check it out below:

Ingredients
1 whole store-bought roast chicken (about 2 pounds)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 container (7 ounces) chopped onions
6 cans (14 ounces) low-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1 container (14 ounces) pre-cut carrot sticks, chopped
1 container (14 ounces) pre-cut celery sticks, chopped
1 roll (16.3 ounces) golden buttermilk biscuit dough
1 can (10.5 ounces) condensed chicken gravy

Directions
Remove skin from chicken and shred meat into large pieces. Set aside.

In a small frying pan, add vegetable oil and heat over medium heat. When oil is hot, add chopped onions and saute until soft.

In a large pot or Dutch oven, add broth, poultry seasoning, salt, pepper, carrots, celery, and sauteed onions. Bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer for about 10 minutes to soften vegetables, and then add shredded chicken. Continue to simmer while making dumplings.

While stew is simmering, prepare dumplings. Open can and remove biscuits. On a lightly floured surface, roll each biscuit to 1/4-inch thick. With a knife, cut each biscuit into 4 pie-pieces. Set aside.

Skim surface for any scum that has risen to top. Stir in chicken gravy.

With the stew still simmering over low heat, stir in dumplings a few at a time. Once all dumplings are in to pot, cover with a tight fitting lid and cook for 10 minutes.

Ladle into bowls and serve piping hot.

Instead of a whole roasted chicken, I substituted it with two cans of white meat chicken and it was yummy and less expensive. We had plenty of leftovers and I honestly think the leftovers tasted better than the first go-around.

Grilled Fish with Tomato and Watermelon Salad

I saw this on the Today Show this morning and bought the stuff to make it for dinner. Surprisingly, the watermelon mixed with the balsamic and sesame dressing is what makes it taste so yummy. Do keep in mind that I screwed the recipe up just a tad and added waaayyyy too much vinegar to the dressing, but if my husband will eat it, the dinner was a success in my book! We are starting a "diet" together in which we eat normally throughout the day, but for dinner we only eat a salad with a protein. You may be seeing more salad recipes on here, due to that fact, and no, I'm NOT doing the Clean program as of yet. I've decided I simply CAN NOT do it while I'm at home with my girls. Maybe when I start back to work this next week my goal of a CLEANSE will be attainable. Right now, I'm sticking to salads at dinnertime!

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Easy Dinner Recipe!

I stole this off of a Barilla Pasta box, and it is easy, yummy, and healthy, too!

• 2 cups of cooked Barilla PLUS Omega 3 Macaroni Elbows

• 1 can of diced tomatoes

• 2 cups of cooked chicken breast pieces
• 1 tbs of Olive Oil
• 1 clove of minced garlic

• 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese

In a skillet, saute garlic and olive oil, add cooked chicken pieces. Cook for two minutes on medium heat, stirring constantly. Add 1 can of diced tomatoes. Do not drain! Cover and simmer chicken and tomatoes for five minutes. Add cooked noodles and toss together. Top with mozzarella and serve! Delicioso!

Sloppy Joes, Slop, Sloppy Joes, Yeah!

I tweaked a reciped from Oprah.com that tasted amazing and it was also low-fat and calories!

You Need:

• 1 1/2 lbs. lean ground TURKEY (yes, turkey, my hamburger meat fans...you will be pleasantly surprised, so trust me on this and try it!)
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 tbs of olive oil
• Season All Salt
• salt and freshly ground black pepper (I prefer Kosher Salt because it has bigger granuels, and seems to taste better. Plus, I just like saying the word "kosher".)
• 1 can of Del Monte brand "Sloppy Joe: Original"
• 5 whole wheat hamburger buns (I prefer Mrs. Baird's wheat buns. Mrs. Baird's always seems to be the softest, and freshest bread.)
• Mustard

Using a medium pan, saute onion in olive oil until onion is soft, but not translucent. Add turkey meat and brown. Season to taste with Season All salt, kosher salt, and pepper. The original recipe calls for "fresh ground pepper," but you can use whichever kind of pepper you prefer. (Does anyone remember the SNL skit, "More fresh, ground pepp-ah?") Anywhoo, you shouldn't have much fat to drain (thanks to your choice of lean turkey over hamburger meat), but drain any fat from the pan. Return to stove and add the can of Sloppy Joe sauce. Cook on medium heat until sauce is warm and bubbly. Cook on low for five to ten minutes while you toast the wheat buns. On a cookie sheet, butter the buns and broil in the oven until toasted, which literally takes one to two minutes. We like mustard on our buns (ha!), but you may want ketchup. Scoop and serve on toasted buns!

Sloppy Joe sauce can be found in the same aisle that you would buy canned chili, or beans.

My favorite brand of bread is Mrs. Baird's! Delicious!

Breakfast Blueberry-Bananna Smoothie

Last summer, I found this recipe in my US Weekly magazine that Kate Hudson's trainer posted to get "Bikini Ready" for summer. Even though I've never been, and probably never will be "Bikini Ready" without medical intervention, this smoothie is still a yummy and healthy breakfast treat! Here is the recipe that I altered a bit from the original:

You will need:

• 1 cup of almond milk (the vanilla almond milk, with no sweetener added is the best) Almond milk is in the cereal aisle at Walmart and United. I'm sure it is in the same vicinity for other grocery stores.


• 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder (protein powder can be found in the vitamin and weight control section of Walmart...not sure about where to find it in United)


• 1 cup of frozen blueberries


• 1 cup of frozen strawberries


• 1 banana


• 1 packet of Splenda or Truvia sweetener (The original recipe called for guava nectar, but it is very expensive for a small bottle. Yet, if you don't want the chemicals of artificial sweetener in your healthy shake, the aguave nectar is at United in the same aisle as the honey. I've never seen aguave nectar at Walmart.)

Using your blender, blend the almond milk and protein powder together first. Add the banana and blend until smooth. Gradually add the cup of frozen blueberries, blending until smooth. Add your strawberries slowly and gradually, so your blender will not become bogged down and burn out! Taste the smoothie, and if it is sweet enough for you, skip the Splenda or nectar. If you like your smoothies a bit more decadent, add the sweetener of your choice and enjoy!