Cooking For Slackers
Easy Meals For Lazy Chefs
Mrs. Slacker
I am a SAHM to three beautiful little girls. I married my perfect match. He truly is my better half. Since meeting him and starting a family, I have had to learn how to cook. However, our family has continued to grow and grow and I just don't have the time (or knowledge) to cook fancy meals. So here is my food blog. Easy recipes that anyone could do. And I mean anyone. If I can cook the meals on here, so can you. And please, if you have a recipe you think I might like, feel free to send it to me. I am always on the hunt for new recipes. And don't forget comments!! I love comments!!
Cooking For Slackers
Two Week Menu
Here is our two week menu. You will see some repeats from two weeks ago since we didn't make those meals.
Sun. - BBQ Pork
Mon. - Turkey Burgers
Tues. - Beef Tips
Wed. - Chicken Pesto Pasta
Thurs. - Upside Down Pizza
Fri. - Chicken Enchilada Casserole
Sat. - Birthday Party
Sun. - Mama's going out with friends
Mon. - Bow Tie Pasta
Tues. - Roast
Wed. - Chicken Mac and Cheese
Thurs. - McDonald's night (School Fundraiser)
Fri. - Beef Noodles Shepard Pie
Crockpot Enchiladas
These were good but very bland. My oldest LOVED them which is HUGE. But she likes bland things. So, if you like bland, do the recipe exactly as posted. But if you want a little flavor, add some rotel or a spicier sauce, red even.
Crockpot Chicken
2 lbs. chicken breast, bonless (I used chicken tenders)
2 cans Enchilada Sauce (I used Old El Paso Green Sauce)
2 C. Colby/Jack mix
1 C Sour Cream
1 package Flour Tortillas (you can use corn if you want)
Place the chicken in the crockpot and pour half a can of the enchilada sauce over it.
Cook on high for 6 hours or low for 8. My chicken was straight out of the freezer. Forgot to take it out. But it still worked.
With two forks, shdred the chicken and pour the rest of the sauce in.
Cook for an additional 30 minutes, or until you are ready to make the enchiladas.
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
When you are ready to make the enchiladas, add the sour cream.
And the cheese (leave some to sprinkle on top later)
Scoop into the tortillas, roll and place in a 9x13 greased dish.
Pour the other can or enchilada sauce over the top of the enchiladas.
Sprinkle the cheese you left aside on top.
Put it into the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes
And viola!
Baked Ziti Too
I have one recipe already posted that a lovely lady brought me after my foot surgery. Then I found this recipe and thought I would give it a try. It was a HUGE hit and now a keeper. I made two, one for a friend who recently lost her 14 month old daughter. I hope she enjoyed it.
Baked Ziti
1 lb. dry ziti pasta (I use penne)
1 onion, chopped
1 lb. ground beef
2 (26 oz) jars of spaghetti sauce
6 oz. provolone cheese, sliced
1.5 C sour cream
6 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
Prepare the pasta per package
In a large skillet, brown the ground beef and onion. Add the spaghetti sauce and simmer for 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x13 in backing dish. Pour 1/2 of the pasta on the bottom of the dish. Top with the provolone cheese. Spread the sour cream over the provolone cheese and then pour 1/2 of the sauce mixture over all of that. Next pour the remaining pasta over that with the Mozzarella Cheese on top of that. Lastly, the remaining sauce mixture. Top with grated parmesan cheese.
Bake for 30 minutes or until cheeses are melted.
Two Week menu
Went to the grocery store today for our two weeks of meals. You might notice some changes in our foods from here on out because we found out our youngest is allergic to eggs. ACK! So, we will adjust when we can and supplement her with something else if we can't. For example, we can't give her Egg Noodles, but we can give her some regular noodles that do not have eggs.
So here are the meals I plan to cook over the next two weeks.
Chicken Tacos
Chicken Fried Steak
Crockpot Chicken Enchiladas
Beef Tips
Turkey Spaghetti
Chicken Mac and Cheese
Pork Chops
Hamburger mac
Roast
Short Ribs
Shrimp and noodles
Shepard's pie
Garlic Green Beans
I sort of just made this up, so I do not have any exact measurements, but it is really easy and really yummy.
Green Beans
Package of frozen green beans
Olive Oil
2 Cloves Garlic, chopped
Butter or Margarine
Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the green beans. Boil or about 5 minutes.
Pour the Olive Oil in a skillet and brown the garlic over medium heat.
Drain the green beans and add to the skillet. Saute for about 5-7 minutes.
Put the green beans in your serving dish and add a little butter or margarine on top to melt.
Breakfast Christmas Casserole
I needed something to make for breakfast Christmas morning for my In-laws and us. I saw a couple of friends mention a casserole they were making that sounded somewhat good, but it had bread in it which just wasn't making me say YUM!. So after looking up breakfast casseroles on-line, I decided to get brave and just wing it. make one the way I thought I would want it to taste. HA!
Sprinkle cheese over the top. As much as you'd like. Personally, I think I will do more next time. Ha!
I made it the day before and let it set in the fridge over night. Then when we got up this morning to start unwrapping gifts, Mr. Slacker turned on the oven and slid it in so it would be ready when we were.
It actually turned out pretty good. Most everyone even went back for seconds. So here it is. You will have to estimate on the measurings since I am not sure exactly how much I used.
Slacker Breakfast Christmas Casserole
6-7 Eggs
1 1/2 to 2 C Milk
Ground Sausage
1/2 Green Bell Pepper
1/2 Onion
4 Garlic Cloves (I love Garlic!!)
Package frozen shredded hash browns
Mexican Cheese Mix (I used a pre-shredded cheddar jack mix)
Heat the frozen hash browns in the microwave till they are just barely warm/thawed. Then spread out over bottom of a 13x9 dish.
Brown the sausage and spread out over the top of the hash browns.
Finely chop up the bell pepper, onion and garlic and spread over the sausage.
Mix the Milk and the eggs (and salt and pepper to taste) in a bowl. Then pour over the potato, meat, veggie layers.
Sprinkle cheese over the top. As much as you'd like. Personally, I think I will do more next time. Ha!
I made it the day before and let it set in the fridge over night. Then when we got up this morning to start unwrapping gifts, Mr. Slacker turned on the oven and slid it in so it would be ready when we were.
Bake at 350 for 45- 50 minutes.
And viola!
Choco-Coconut Brownie Bars
What do you bake when you have to make 8 dozen? Something easy!
Like I posted before, I use to make the Zebra Nipples. But I decided I wanted to get a little more fancy this year. But hey, I am Mrs. Slacker. So fancy also has to mean easy. And these were just that. And they were yummy too.
Choco-Coconut Brownie Bars
2 tubes (18 oz) refrigerated chocolate cookie dough (with or without walnuts)
2 eggs
1 box (19.5 oz) traditional brownie mix
1/4 C. water
1/3 C. vegetable oil
3/4 C. walnuts, chopped
1 C. sweetened flake coconut
Heat your oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 15x10x1 in. baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Press cookie dough evenly into bottom of prepared baking pan. Stir eggs, brownie mix, 1/4 C water and 1/3 C vegetable oil together until well blended. Spoon brownie batter over cookie dough. Sprinkle walnuts and coconut over top of brownie batter.
Bake at 350 degrees for 35-55 minutes, depending on over. (I did 55 and they were burnt. I did 35 and they were perfect).
If you did it right, LOL, you should be able to cut them up into 36 individual bars.
I was making 3 pans of this stuff, so I had to do them in stages. Here is one about to go into the oven and one about to get the cookie dough rolled out.
The cookie dough all smooshed out (Smooshed is a cooking term, right?)
And here is one pan done while I get ready to make the last pan.
And this is what 8 dozen (well, 16 half dozen) Choco-Coconut Brownie Bars looks like.
And this is what 8 dozen (well, 16 half dozen) Choco-Coconut Brownie Bars looks like.
Bento Baby!
Just grab a quick shot of the girls' Bento Lunches today.
The green box had a PB&J Sandwich, M&M/YoGos Mix, Cheese Cubes, Pirate Booty, and Waffle Pretzels.
THe pink box has Maple Brown Sugar Ham, Cubed Cheese, M&Ms/YoGos Mix, Pirate Booty and Waffle Pretzels.
Zebra Nipples
The name of these just make me giggle. But they make my taste buds dance. These are so good. I have made them every year for years for my local Moms Group's Cookie Exchange. This year I got brave and made something else. But my Pregnant Best Friend was a little sad. And since she IS pregnant and she IS my best friend, I made a batch just for her.
You will need
A package of Hershey's Hugs
A bag of Pretzel Snaps (aka Waffle Pretzels)
A bag of Christmas Colored M&Ms
Preheat oven to 200 degrees
You can substitute the Hugs with Rolos, regular Hershey Kisses, etc. And you can switch up the color of your M&Ms as needed.
First lay out your pretzels and start topping them with the Hugs.
Once they are all topped, put them in the oven for 10 minutes on 200. You do not want them to melt, you just want them to get soft.
Then pull them out of the oven and immediately start topping with the M&Ms Don't push them down too hard or your Hugs will ooze over the edges.
And viola! Zebra Nipples. YUM!
Bento Lunches
I am SO digging these new Laptop Lunch boxes.
Pinwheel sandwiches
Cantaloupe
Cubed cheese
Gingersnap cookies
Flat pretzels
Hamburger Pie (aka Shepard's Pie)
This is a regular in our house. Easy to make and easy for all the girls to eat it.
1 Mashed Potatoes (you can make your own or buy the 24 oz refrigerated kind)
1 1/4 pounds lean ground beef
1/2 C chopped onion
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash black pepper
1 1/2 C Frozen cut green beans, thawed (I use one can of green beans)
1 1/2 C Frozen Corn (I use one can)
1 10.75oz. can condensed tomato soup
1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese
(You can also use a bag of frozen mixed veggies)
Prepare Mashed potatoes and set aside.
In a large skillet cook meat and onion until meat is brown and onion is tender. Add salt and pepper.
Stir in green beans, corn and soup.
Put meat mixture into a 2 quart baking dish
Spoon mashed potatoes on top.
Sprinkle cheese on top of mashed potatoes
Bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes or until mixture is bubbly and cheese begins to brown.
Recipe Entries
Here are two recipes that some of the blog readers sent for Thanksgiving. I have not made either, but they are on my list and both sound YUMMY!
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From Kristy
Now, I don't usually like peach cobbler, but this one will be at our Thanksgivings for many years to come! It's super easy and the BEST you'll ever have!!! My mother in law Bonnie is to credit for this one!!!
1 stick melted butter
1 cup sugar, (I use splenda)
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
2 cups sliced peaches (canned)
This is for an 8x8 or 9x9. I double the recipe for 13x9
Hints: when doubling, 1 1/2 sticks of butter, not 2
1 3/4 cup sugar not 2
Drain most, but not all the peach liquid
Melt butter in pan. Mix all ingredients except peaches. Pour over melted butter (don't stir, just pour over butter). Place peaches over batter don't stir, just place on batter) Bake 1 hour at 350 or until it looks really brown and bubbly.
Serve with vanilla ice cream!
1 stick melted butter
1 cup sugar, (I use splenda)
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
2 cups sliced peaches (canned)
This is for an 8x8 or 9x9. I double the recipe for 13x9
Hints: when doubling, 1 1/2 sticks of butter, not 2
1 3/4 cup sugar not 2
Drain most, but not all the peach liquid
Melt butter in pan. Mix all ingredients except peaches. Pour over melted butter (don't stir, just pour over butter). Place peaches over batter don't stir, just place on batter) Bake 1 hour at 350 or until it looks really brown and bubbly.
Serve with vanilla ice cream!
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From Andrea
Sweet Potato Souffle
4 cups yams cooked and mashed (you can bake them first then peel them, or peel then boil them)
1/2-3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cube butter (if your yams are cold, melt butter first)
Mash yams, add sugar, vanilla, butter, and beaten eggs. Mix well. Pour into a 8x8 glass baking dish tha has been buttered. (If doubling the recipe, use a 9x13 dish)
Topping:
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup softened butter
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
Mix then sprinkle topping over sweet potato mixture and bake at 350*F for 30 minutes
Notes:
3 large yams = 3-4 cups mashed
You can substitute canned yams for fresh ones.
Yield:
4 large servings,
4 cups yams cooked and mashed (you can bake them first then peel them, or peel then boil them)
1/2-3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cube butter (if your yams are cold, melt butter first)
Mash yams, add sugar, vanilla, butter, and beaten eggs. Mix well. Pour into a 8x8 glass baking dish tha has been buttered. (If doubling the recipe, use a 9x13 dish)
Topping:
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup softened butter
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
Mix then sprinkle topping over sweet potato mixture and bake at 350*F for 30 minutes
Notes:
3 large yams = 3-4 cups mashed
You can substitute canned yams for fresh ones.
Yield:
4 large servings,
Best Four Cheese Dip EVER!
Oh my gosh! This is the BEST dip. It is so so good. And easy, which makes it even better. I really can not tell you how good this dip is.
1 C Monterey Jack Cheese, grated
1 C Cheddar Cheese, grated
1 C Mozzarella Cheese, grated
3/4 C Parmesan Cheese, grated
1 bunch Green Onions, chopped
1 C Mayonnaise
Garlic (However much you prefer. I usually use two cloves)
1 Large Loaf of Round bread
Mix all the cheese, may, onions and garlic together in a bowl.
Hollow out all the bread from the bread bowl and place the cheese mixture inside.
Cook for 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
Use the bread you scooped out of the bowl to serve with it.
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is quickly sneaking up on us and we are hosting at our house this year. Here is our tentative menu with all the usual dishes, but I am looking for some new fresh ideas. Got any recipes that are yummy yet easy and will fit in with all the other Thanksgiving Dishes?
Turkey (specialty store bought and pre-cooked LOL)
Ham (In-laws will probably handle this one)
Mac and Cheese (Husband's Family Recipe)
Dressing/Stuffing (I honestly have no clue how to make this)
Green Salad
Green Bean Casserole (Recipe off the Campbell's site) or some other type of veggie (or two)
Sweet Potatoes (Love these but have never made them, so they may or may not make an appearance)
Desserts (No clue what yet)
Rolls (Husband's tradition to get the Grady's kind that have to rise. YUM!)
Two Week Menu
Monday - Veggie Bow Tie Pasta
Tuesday - Pita bread Pizza
Wednesday - Chicken Quesadillas
Thursday - PTA Night at McDonald's
Friday - Pork Chops
Saturday - Out
Sunday - Chicken Fried Steak
Monday - Spaghetti
Tuesday - Pei Wei with the girls
Wednesday - Chicken with Parmesan Noodles
Thursday - Cheesy Chicken and Salsa Skillet
Friday - Upside Down Pizza
Bento Lunches
The girls lunches today.
Pinwheel style sandwiches with ham and cheese or turkey and cheese.
Chocolate covered pretzels
Dried Cranberries
Fritos
Upside Down Pizza
My friend Rachel sent me this yummy recipe. I can't believe I haven't posted it till now. This is so good. 4 out of 5 slackers in my house approve of this delicious meal. Oddly, the biggest Pizza eater in our house does not love it. I think her problem is she was expecting actual Pizza. LOL
So here are some pictures along the way. I used ground turkey tonight.
The yummy layers.
And then I had to share. We had a crescent rolls issue. One of the cans wouldn't open. Then it exploded on one end and everything came oozing out. Mr. Slacker came over quickly to help me out and the laughter began.
So after much fun with the ooey gooey dough, we decide it was best to replace it with another can. Sadly, that one was one of the cool pizza dough squares. So we ended up having to use the actual crescent roll ones and I am not so good at the "pinching the seams". LOL But it's all good.
Upside Down Piiza
Ingredients:
1 onion chopped (I use half a red onion)
1 tsp minced garlic
1 16oz. jar pizza sauce (I use spaghetti sauce)
2 C shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
Grated Parmesan Cheese
2 8oz. cans of refrigerated crescent rolls (I use the new Crecent Pizza Crust sheets)
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2) Brown beef, onion and garlic in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Once browned, drain and stir in sauce. (Add any other pizza toppings you might like at this time. ie mushrooms, pepperoni, olives, etc.)
3) In a 9x13 inch baking dish, grease the bottom of the pan (PAM) and spread one of the tubes of crescent rolls out, pinching the seams together. Spread a layer of meat sauce. Top with 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese. Then another layer of the meat sauce and the rest of the cheese. Top with crescent rolls, pinching seams together.
4) Brush top with some olive oil and sprinkle with garlic powder and parmesan cheese. I even add more mozzarella on top.
5) Bake in oven for 20-30 minutes, or until the crescent crust is golden brown.
The yummy layers.
And then I had to share. We had a crescent rolls issue. One of the cans wouldn't open. Then it exploded on one end and everything came oozing out. Mr. Slacker came over quickly to help me out and the laughter began.
So after much fun with the ooey gooey dough, we decide it was best to replace it with another can. Sadly, that one was one of the cool pizza dough squares. So we ended up having to use the actual crescent roll ones and I am not so good at the "pinching the seams". LOL But it's all good.
Two Week Menu
Monday - Meatball Stroganoff
Tuesday - Upside Down Pizza
Wednesday - Chicken with Parmesan Noodles
Thursday - Hamburger Mac
Friday - Out
Saturday - Lasagna
Sunday - Chicken Enchiladas
Monday - Pepper Steak
Tuesday - Chicken Mac and Cheese
Wednesday - WDW
Thursday - WDW
Friday - WDW
Saturday - WDW
Sunday - WDW
Monday - WDW
Tuesday - PTA Meeting
Meatballs Stroganoff
Just tried this one for the first time. Not bad. I need to do something to add a little bit more flavor, but it is a keeper. Girls loved it.
Meatballs Stroganoff
12-16 oz. package frozen cooked meatballs.
1 C lower-sodium beef broth
1 4 oz. can (drained weight) sliced mushrooms, drained (We don't do mushrooms, so I used some Cream of Mushroom to add the flavor)
1 8 oz. carton dairy sour cream
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 C milk
1 Tbsp Dijon-style mustard
4 C hot cooked wide egg noodles
1) In a large skillet, combine meatballs, broth and mushrooms. bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 15 minutes or until meatballs are heated through.
2) In a small bowl, stir together sour cream and flour. Whisk in milk and mustard. Stir sour cream mixture into skillet. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 1 minute more. Serve over hot cooked noodles.
Pita Bread Pizza
This is an oldie but goodie. My Mom use to make these. I make them and Mr. Slacker use to make them. Pita Bread Pizza.
Take your pita bread and lay it out on a cookie sheet. You can use Pita Bread or that pre-made crust, Boboli.
Any toppings will work. Mr. Slacker loves his ground beef pizza.
Rub some sauce over your crust. Sprinkle as much cheese as you like. I use the pre-shredded pizza blend.
Then top with your favorite pizza toppings. I am a pepperoni fan myself, but have been enjoying the ground beef as well.
Bake at 350 until the cheese is all melted (about 10 or 15 minutes). Cut and serve!
Now I love mine loaded and weighed down while Mr. Slacker is a little more conservative.
Take your pita bread and lay it out on a cookie sheet. You can use Pita Bread or that pre-made crust, Boboli.
Any toppings will work. Mr. Slacker loves his ground beef pizza.
Rub some sauce over your crust. Sprinkle as much cheese as you like. I use the pre-shredded pizza blend.
Then top with your favorite pizza toppings. I am a pepperoni fan myself, but have been enjoying the ground beef as well.
Bake at 350 until the cheese is all melted (about 10 or 15 minutes). Cut and serve!
