Chicken Parmesan

Since we had some left over pasta sauce from Monday night's spaghetti supper, I thought an easy way to use it would be to make Chicken Parmesan. I love it when I have part of a meal ready and waiting in the icebox. That's one of the beauties of eating at home...left overs!

Chicken Parmesan
4 boneless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/2 inch thickness
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
seasoned bread crumbs
2-3 Tblsp. oil
4 slices mozzarella cheese
2 c. left over pasta sauce
Grated Parmesan cheese
4 slices Swiss cheese, if desired

Preheat oven to 350*


Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.


Pound out chicken breast using a meat mallet or rolling pin, until about 1/2 inch thickness.


Whisk together the egg and milk. Dip the chicken breasts in milk and egg mixture and then in bread crumbs.


Brown chicken on both sides until golden, about 3 to 4 minutes on each side.


Place chicken in a 9x13" baking dish. Top each breast with 1 slice of mozzarella cheese.


Ladle pasta sauce over chicken.


Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.


Place Swiss cheese slices on top of each sauce covered chicken breast; if desired.


Bake uncovered at 350* for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until bubbly. Serve with pasta.

Click HERE for printable recipe

Crockpot Spaghetti W/ Spicy Meat Sauce

Since I am trying to get my life and home back in order, I wanted one less thing to think about today...and that would be our dinner. So I am once again relying on my old faithful friend, Sir Crocks-a-lot! This is about one of the easiest meals ever.

Crockpot Spaghetti w/ Spicy Meat Sauce
1 pkg. spaghetti noodles, cooked according to package directions
1 lb. ground beef
1 Tblsp. minced garlic
1 Tblsp. spicy Italian seasoning
salt, pepper to taste
1 (29-oz) can store bought spaghetti sauce
1 can tomatoes w/ diced green chilies
1 small can tomato paste
1 (15-oz) can tomato sauce
2 cans water (using the tomato sauce can)

In a medium skillet brown meat until no longer pink. Drain grease. Transfer meat to a 4 qt crockpot. Add is all other ingredients and stir to mix well. Cover and cook on LOW heat for 4-5 hours. Serve over cooked spaghetti noodles.

Click HERE for printable recipe

Chicken Enchilada Soup

from All Recipes

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1/2 cup diced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup masa harina (I used cornstarch)
3 cups water, divided
1 cup enchilada sauce
1 pound processed cheese, cubed
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin


Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Brown chicken breasts for 4 to 5 minutes on each side. Shred (or dice) and set aside.

To the pot add onions and garlic; saute for 2 minutes, or until onions are translucent. Pour in chicken broth.

In a medium bowl combine masa harina (or corn starch) with 2 cups of water and whisk until well blended.

To the onions and garlic add the masa harina (or corn starch) mixture, remaining water, enchilada sauce, cheese, salt, chili powder and cumin. Bring to a boil; add shredded chicken.

Reduce heat to low and simmer 30 to 40 minutes, or until thickened.

**I added a drained large can of black beans and a small box of frozen corn to the soup. It came out well. It made it more hearty.

Click HERE for printable recipe

Homemade Enchilada Sauce

I found this recipe at Cooking Mexican recipes and thought I'd give it a try for use in my Chicken Enchilada soup. Let's see how it turns out...

Rockin' Robin's Raving Enchilada Sauce

2 c. chicken broth
4 Tblsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
2 heaping tsp. garlic powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 pinch ground cinnamon (less than 1/16 tsp.)
1/3 tsp. sugar
5 Tblsp. cold water
5 Tblsp. all purpose flour


In a 2 quart sauce pan add the chicken broth, chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, salt, cinnamon and sugar (the sugar is a little secret to eliminate any bitter taste from the chili powder.)

Use a whisk to mix everything well. Heat to a boil, reduce heat to a low boil and cook for 3 minutes. Whisk frequently to make sure all spices dissolve. This is important for flavor and a nice smooth sauce.

While the sauce is on a slow simmer/boil, add 5 tablespoons of cold water in a small bowl. With another whisk mix 1 tablespoon at a time of flour. Whisk vigorously to avoid lumps. If you have lumps here, you will definitely have lumps in your sauce.

After 3 minutes of cooking sauce, turn the heat up to high. Very slowly, pour the flour mixture into the boiling sauce. Here you must whisk the sauce vigorously while adding the flour to avoid lumps. After all the flour is added, continue to whisk for one minute. You can turn the heat down to medium during this time. Just make sure the sauce is boiling.

Turn off the heat, this enchilada sauce recipe is done.

* Robin's Note:: You will notice that as this sauce sits it will form a "skin" on the surface. This is normal and in fact the longer the sauce sits the thicker this skin becomes. All you have to do is peel the skin off and throw it away.

**My note:: Sauce thickens quickly as it is sits. If you need a thinner sauce, add more chicken broth to finished sauce. Stir briskly over medium heat to blend in broth.

Wow! This was so easy and it taste GREAT!

Click HERE for printable recipe

Blackberry Bread

I had some extra blackberries in the freezer & came up with this recipe to put them to use. It's not an overly sweet bread but it does hit the spot.

Blackberry Bread

3 eggs
2/3 c. softened butter
2 c. of sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
2 1/4 c. blackberries; chopped
3 1/3 c. flour
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350*

In a mixing bowl, cream together eggs, sugar, vanilla and butter.

In a separate bowl combine baking soda & flour.

Slowly add dry ingredients to wet mixture & mix well.

Stir in blackberries. Notice what pretty color the dough turns from the blackberries.

Pour mixture into 2 greased loaf pans (or mini loaf pans) & bake for 50 to 55 minutes for large loaf pans; 25-20 minutes for mini loaf pans or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.


This batch made 8 mini loaves and 10 cup cake size muffins.

Click HERE for printable recipe

Green Chile Chili

1-1/2 lb. coarse grind chili meat
1 onion, diced
1 (4-oz.) can diced green chilies
2 (15-oz) cans diced tomatoes
1 (15-oz) can tomato sauce
1 can kidney beans, undrained
1 c. water
1 Tblsp. minced garlic
2 Tblsp. chili powder
salt & pepper to taste
2 tsp. ground cumin

Brown meat and onion in a skillet. Drain grease. Place meat and remaining ingredients into a 4-6 qt. crock pot. Cover and cook on LOW 4-6 hours.

Click HERE for printable recipe

Sunrise Cinnamon Loaves

18 1/2 oz. pkg. yellow cake mix with pudding
4 eggs
3/4 c. oil
3/4 c. water
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 c. sugar
3 Tblsp. ground cinnamon


Preheat oven to 350* Combine first 5 ingredients into a large mixing bowl.

Mix for about 3 minutes on high speed of an electric mixer; or until well mixed.

Pour half of batter into 2 greased & floured8"x4" loaf pans (or into mini loaf pans.)

In a small bowl combine sugar & cinnamon. Mix well.

If using mini loaf pans, sprinkle about a half a teaspoon or less of the cinnamon mixture over the batter. If using 2 loaf pans, pour half of the cinnamon mixture evenly over batter in each pan.

Using a butter knife, swirl cinnamon into batter. If using regular loaf pans, skip this step and pour remaining batter evenly over each cinnamon topped loaf pan.

Bake mini loaf pans for about 22-25 minutes; regular loaf pans for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Remove from pan(s) and cool on a wire rack. Yield: 2 regular size loaves, or 24 mini loaves (not all shown in photo.)

Click HERE for printable recipe

Homemade Yeast Dinner Rolls

2 pkgs (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast (or use 4-1/2 tsp. bulk yeast)
1/3 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar, divided
1/2 cup luke warm water
1-1/4 cups warm milk (not scalding or super hot)
1/2 cup melted, cooled butter
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
2 eggs, beaten
6 to 7-1/2 cups all-purpose flour


In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water with 1 teaspoon sugar.


Add milk, butter, salt, remaining sugar, eggs and 3 cups flour; beat until smooth.

Stir in remaining flour 1 cup at a time, until a soft dough forms.

Turn out onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, adding additional flour as needed.

Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down, then turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Divided dough in half.

Roll each dough half into a rectangle; about 1/4" to 1/2 " thick.

Using a medium size biscuit cutter cut dough into pieces.

Shape each piece into a ball; place into a greased or silpat lined baking pan.

Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Brush lightly with melted butter if desired. Remove from pans to wire racks. Serve warm.

Makes: about 35-40 rolls (depending on how well dough rises & the size of your balls)

Click HERE for printable recipe