Mini Meatloaves

These are so fun!  It's not a new recipe, I just used my meatloaf recipe here.  Instead of baking it in a loaf pan, use a well-greased muffin tin and bake 40-45 minutes on 350.

Grilled Pork Chops

This isn't exactly a recipe, but I wanted to share what I used for the marinade.  I got the ideas from my sister and I don't have exact measurements (sorry), but it's not too hard to mess up.

Ingredients:

bbq sauce (maybe 3/4 cup?)
Italian dressing (1/3 cup?)
Montreal steak seasoning (1 tsp?)
salt & pepper to taste (just a little)

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and pour over pork chops (I use a Ziploc baggie to marinade them in).  Marinade for a couple of hours.

I don't have exact grilling instructions since Derek always does that part, but I do know that he tried to cook them on medium-low heat and if you use a meat thermometer the temperature should read 170 degrees when done.

No Bake Chocolate Oat Bars

These are kind of like inside out no bake cookies, with a few differences in the ingredients.  So good!  Recipe came from Von's Kitchen.

Ingredients:

1 cup butter (I used margarine and it was ok)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups uncooked quick oats
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I just had milk chocolate and it worked ok)
1/2 cup crunchy or creamy peanut butter

Grease 9" square baking pan.  Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat.  Add brown sugar and vanilla; mix well.  Stir in oats.  Cook over low heat a couple minutes until well blended.  Press half mixture into prepared pan, using back of large spoon to spread evenly.  Meanwhile, melt chocolate chips in small saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally.  Stir in peanut butter.  Pour chocolate mixture over oat mixture in the pan; spread evenly with knife or spoon.  Crumble remaining oat mixture over chocolate layer, pressing down gently.  Cover and refrigerate 2-3 hours or overnight.

Chocolate Sauce

I got this recipe from Mikelle's Meals to go with some leftover vanilla ice cream we had.  I can't eat vanilla ice cream alone and this sauce was so good!  You can put the leftovers in the fridge and microwave for about 30 seconds the next time you want some.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup cocoa
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup evaporated milk
1/4 cup butter (I used margarine)
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla

Stir cocoa and sugar together well.  In a saucepan combine milk, butter, salt and vanilla.  Stir in dry mix.  Heat, stirring until it reaches a boil and is thick.  You want it to coat the back of a spoon.  If you want it to be thicker, for a crepe filling for example, boil a little longer.  I boiled mine about 2 minutes, stirring constantly.  Let it cool for 10-15 minutes to get even thicker (this made it the perfect consistency in my opinion).

Makes about 1 cup.

Chicken Chimichangas

These were really good!  I loved how the tortillas were crispy without frying them (=healthy).  I got there recipe at Mikelle's Meals.  She's got a lot of other good stuff too that I want to try.

Derek really liked them (always a plus), and suggested maybe adding some diced jalapeños and maybe cilantro, so I'll probably try that next time.

Ingredients:

2 cloves (2 tsp) minced garlic
2 medium onions, diced (I didn't use nearly that much.  I think about 1/2 an onion.)
2 tomatoes, diced (I used 1)
1 tsp cumin
2 cups cooked, chopped chicken
1 4 oz can green chiles
salt to taste
grated cheese
refried beans (optional; I used a can of pinto beans)

Saute all ingredients (except cheese) and put 2 spoonfuls down center of tortilla along with some grated cheese.  Fold in 4 sides.  Spray generously with Pam.  Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes.  You can also fry on both sides and drain on a paper towel.

Serve with sour cream and salsa.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

This was supposed to be a "healthy" recipe, but I substituted a few things so it wasn't as healthy as it should be I guess.  I got the recipe from a sample box of All Bran flakes that I got in the mail (probably the reason why All Bran flakes are in the recipe; you could probably do without them).  Derek liked it, so I guess it was good!

4 uncooked corn tortillas (or just a bag of tortilla chips)
4 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 cup All Bran Complete Wheat Flakes
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 jar (10 oz) enchilada sauce
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
2/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt (or sour cream...)
2 cups shredded lettuce
1/3 cup sliced green onions
1/2 cup chopped tomato
1 chopped avocado (optional)

Place tortillas on baking sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees about 10 minutes or until crisp.  Cool; break into small pieces and set aside.  (Or just use tortilla chips like we did!)

Stir together chicken, All Bran flakes, cheese, enchilada sauce, and tomato sauce.  Pour into a casserole dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated.  Remove from oven.

Place 1/2 cup chicken mixture on plate.  Layer yogurt (or sour cream), lettuce, green onion, tomato and avocado on top.  Sprinkle with tortilla pieces and serve right away.

Zucchini Bread

I got this recipe from my sister last year when we had a ton of zucchini.  It's so good and it freezes really well too! (Wrap in plastic wrap, then aluminum foil, then put in a freezer bag.)

Ingredients:

3 c. flour

1 tsp. baking pwdr

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cloves

3 eggs

2 c grated zucchini

3 tsp vanilla

1 tsp salt

 3 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 c. nuts

2 c. sugar

1 c. oil

Mix all dry ingredients together.  Add remaining ingredients.  Place in greased bread pans.  Bake at 350 for 1 hour.  Makes 2 loaves.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

This is a pretty good spin on the original.  I got the recipe from my mother-in-law's cookbook.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened
1/3 cup shortening
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup sour milk or buttermilk (you can add a little vinegar to the milk to get sour milk)
2 cups unpeeled, grated zucchini
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
4 T cocoa powder
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1 tsp vanilla
Topping:  1/4 cup chocolate chips & 2 T sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Beat margarine, shortening and sugar until combined.  Add eggs, one at a time beating well after each addition.

Alternately add milk, zucchini and dry ingredients (and vanilla).  Mix until just blended.

Pour into two greased loaf pans and sprinkle with sugar and chocolate chips.

Depending on pan used, bake 40-60 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean (I baked them for 50 minutes in 2 regular loaf pans).