Fast & Delicious Chicken Marinade

I started school last Monday…. Wow, that is weird to say! Rikard has been begging me to go to school and learn Swedish the right way for over a year now. So I finally bit the bullet and started.  So within the next 6 months I will be fluent in Swedish, 3 hours a day is a bit much for my liking though. 

With me being in school most of the day (ok ok 3 hours, but it takes a long time driving and getting ready!) I have been looking for recipes that I can throw together before I leave for school in the morning.  I am also getting a little worried that summer is leaving me… and fast. So I want everything cooked on the BBQ!  This marinade is so simple and I always have the ingredients in the house.  I get creative most the time and just start dumping different spices into it, but it always turns out great.  

Delicious Chicken Marinade

Ingredients

¼ Cup               White wine vinegar (or balsamic)

¼ Cup               Olive oil

½ tsp                Chili powder

1 or 2                crushed bay leaves

½ tsp                Onion powder

½ tsp                Garlic Powder

½ tsp                Pepper

½ tsp                Oregano

½ tsp                dried basil

½ tsp                Red pepper flakes (optional)

4                      Chicken breasts

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a resealable bag. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours, but best is over night.

2. I also have put them in the freezer so all I have to do is thaw them out. The flavor is amazing!

3. Grill on the BBQ or in a skillet. Enjoy!

Tuna Casserole

My sister Dena is known for making a killer tuna casserole.  I struggle with tuna but Rikard loves it so I called her up the other day and had her walk me through it.  She suggested using bread crumbs on top but I didn’t have any so I used fried onions and it was delicious.  I love casseroles like this; you can pretty much put anything into them.  I actually really enjoyed this casserole and finally found a way I will eat tuna.

  This also would be a great freezer meal.  I am always on the lookout for good freezer meals. Whenever I go back to the States to visit I make a bunch of freezer meals for Rikard, I like to give him a good combination of meals.  I mean seriously poor guy all alone in the house without me, the least I can do is still feed him. Haha  

My dear friend Fanny says a saying that pops into my head right now… I hope I don’t mess this up. “When the cats go out, the rats come out to play”. Usually it is Fanny and I that are the rats when the guys are out of town working. 

Tuna Casserole

Ingredients

2 Cans               Tuna

2 Cans               Cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup

4 Cups               Cooked macaroni noodles

7or8                  Sliced Mushrooms

1                      Diced onion

1 Cup                Frozen Peas

1 Cup                Shredded cheese

1 Cup                French’s fried onions Or any fried onions

Directions

1.  Cook noodles al dente. The last few minutes throw the onions into the boiling water (just to soften them up, so they aren’t too strong in the casserole)

2. Mix Tuna, Cream of mushroom/Cream of chicken, Noodles, Mushrooms, the softened diced onion and the peas. Pour into a casserole dish.

3. Sprinkle fried onions on top of the mixture and top that with shredded cheese. 

4. Bake at 350°F/177°C for 45 minutes. Enjoy.

Source: Dena Bird 

Navajo Tacos

I have been looking for something different to make, I sometimes get into a cooking rut.  I get worried about trying new things because I am afraid they won’t taste as good as something I know how to cook,   but last night I was feeling dangerous! I wanted something not only new but something I have never done.  I searched and searched and finally came up with these.

When I was a kid and we would go to the State Fair three things really stuck out in my mind… (Mom this one is for you haha) The people watching, the animals (especially the sheep), and the Navajo Tacos! If you haven’t gone to the State Fair and had a true Navajo Taco, this year is your year! You need to go to the State Fair find a really good bench, load up a giant Navajo Taco, get an ice cold beer, eat, drink and enjoy the people watching.  Seriously where do these people come from? I swear the State Fair brings out a different breed of people.  DON’T KNOCK IT TILL YOU TRY IT! SERIOUSLY!!!   Wait… I almost forgot, after all that lovely goodness of the Navajo Taco and the happy feeling from all the laughing. Work your way over and check out the animals.  The more I think about this maybe you should check out the animals before you eat, it’s pretty disgusting and stinks to high hell in there.  Good luck! 

Navajo Tacos

Ingredients

Taco bread

1 Cup    Flour

¼ Tsp   Salt

1 tsp     Powdered Milk

1 tsp     Baking Powder

½ Cup   Water

1          Bottle Vegetable Oil (for frying)

Toppings

1 Lb      Ground beef

1Cup     Chopped onions

1 Can    Rotel tomatoes

1 Pkt     Taco seasoning

1can     Black or refried beans

1          Head of lettuce

3 or 4    Tomatoes

1 can    Sliced black olives

            Salsa    

            Ranch dressing  

Directions (fry bread)

1. Whisk together Flour, salt, powdered milk, and baking powder in a large bowl. Pour water on the flour mixture all at once and stir with a fork until it is a large clump.

2. Don’t knead the dough just mix it with your hands to form a ball. Cut it into 4 pieces.

3. With floured hands stretch each piece to form a disk about 5 to 7 inches.

4. Heat the vegetable oil to 350°F/176°C (Do not let it get so hot it smokes) Test it by dropping a small piece of dough in and see if it begins to fry.

5. Take formed dough and gently place into oil be careful not to splash. Fry until brown then flip and fry the other side. About 2 to 3 minutes on each side. 

Directions (Meat filling)

1.  Brown the ground beef, Rinse or drain the fat off, and add the onions, tomatoes and taco seasoning. Simmer until the onions are soft.

2. Heat the beans.

3. Chop lettuce and tomatoes

4. Pile it all on top of fry bread like a taco salad. Enjoy.

Source: Whats Cooking America

Chicken Tortilla Casserole

Growing up whenever my mom would ask me what I wanted for my birthday dinner I would say tortilla casserole.  So of course once I had my own kitchen it was one of the first things I mastered.  The best part is its simple and you can put pretty much anything you want in it.  Occasionally I will mix in some salsa or cottage cheese if I have it in the fridge.  I always serve it with just a salad for a side. It is still one of my favorites and now one of Rikards. 

Whenever I leave town I make several in small portions and freeze them for Rikard to throw in the oven for dinner.  It’s perfect for freezer meals just take out and top with cheese.

I truly believe that you cannot go wrong with casseroles, maybe it’s because I am from Utah, but just trust me… They are delicious!  You can take the girl out of Utah, but you cannot take the Utah out of the girl! (That’s a good thing… I think)

Chicken Tortilla Casserole

Ingredients:

4 1 can 1 Pkg	Shredded chicken breasts Black beans (drained and Rinsed) Flour tortillas (8)
1 cup 1 can 1Tbsp 1 sm can 1 or 2tsp	Sour cream Cream of chicken soup Onion powder Green chiles (Mild) chopped Jalapenos (optional) Salt and pepper

Directions:

1.  Cook and shred chicken (Any method you want)

2.  In a separate bowl mix sour cream, cream of chicken soup, green chiles, onion powder, jalapenos, salt and pepper.

3. Cut tortillas into 2inch squares.  Start by putting a couple table spoons of the sour cream mix in bottom of casserole dish, and then do a layer of tortillas to cover, add half the chicken and cover with all the black beans. Cover black beans and chicken with 1/3 of the sour cream mix. Do another layer of tortillas, chicken, and another 1/3 of the sour cream mix, top with remaining tortillas and the rest of the sour cream mix. Top off with shredded cheese. 

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until bubbly. 

5. Garnish with sliced green onions and black olives