Strawberry Pudding Cake – OMG!

5 May

Strawberry cake, strawberry cake, strawberry cake! I used to be a simple yellow cake with chocolate icing kind of girl, but not anymore. Now that I have had this ‘Strawberry Pudding Cake’, I am in love!!!

Strawberry Pudding Cake - www.KidsWorkDinner.com

 

Strawberry Pudding Cake (adapted from the recipe on the box)

1 box Duncan Hines Strawberry Supreme Cake Mix

1 (3.4 oz) pkg Jell-o Strawberry Crème instant pudding and pie filling

4 large eggs

1 cup water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp flour

1 can strawberry frosting

Preheat oven to 350˚. Grease and flour 10-inch Bundt pan. Combine all of the ingredients, except icing, and bake according to package directions. Once cake is baked, and cooled, heat frosting in microwave-safe bowl for 10 to 15 seconds. Stir and drizzle over cake.

The Verdict

There is a reason that I do not make cake often, I will eat it! Luckily, this cake was a hit with the entire family so the calorie load was equally shared.

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Simple Grilled Barbecue Chicken Breast

22 Mar

Barbecue chicken breast, broccoli, and corn, it doesn’t get simpler than that! Today was crazy and dinner was, honestly, an afterthought. Everything in the fridge was old and everything in the freezer was, well, frozen. I was tired and I had a headache, yet for some reason, my kids still expected me to feed them! The nerve!

 

Simple Grilled Barbecue Chicken Breast - www.KidsWorkDinner.com

 

Simple Grilled Barbecue Chicken Breast

Chicken Breast

Barbecue sauce

Salt, pepper, seasonings

 

As I was defrosting a couple of frozen chicken breasts in the microwave, I was heating up my trusty George Foreman grill. I dry rubbed some seasonings on the breast, grilled them, then covered them in barbecue sauce. Next was a bag of frozen broccoli florets in the microwave, as I opened a can of corn and heated it on the stove.

 

The Verdict

It was far from fancy, but Simple Grilled Barbecue Chicken was a hit!

 

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Fried Chicken Parmesan…Wow!

15 Mar

Awhile back, I made Popcorn Chicken Parmesan, which is a quick and easy dish, but yesterday I had more time on my hands, so I made Fried Chicken Parmesan. My recipe is based off Aaron McCargo, Jr. (aka Big Daddy on Food Network).  Big Daddy’s chicken parmesan, while incredibly delicious, is some work. It involves pounding the chicken breast until it is thin, breading, and frying. However, if you have the time, the results are so worth it.

 

Chicken Parmesan - www.KidsWorkDinner.com

 

Chicken Parmesan

1 cup thin spaghetti

1 Jar spaghetti sauce

Deli sliced mozzarella cheese

Chicken Breast

2 eggs

¼ cup milk

Flour

Salt, pepper, seasonings

Vegetable oil

 

Cook pasta according to package directions. Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan. Mix eggs and milk in a shallow bowl. Mix flour, salt, pepper, and seasonings (or you can use a packaged chicken breader, such as “House of Autry”) in another shallow bowl. Place chicken breast in a heavy duty zip lock bag and pound it flat. Dredge the chicken through the egg mixture, shaking off any excess, then through the flour mixture.  Place chicken in heated oil, frying approximately 5 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. While you are frying the chicken, heat the spaghetti sauce in small pan.  Place hot chicken on top of cooked pasta, cover with a slice of mozzarella cheese, and top with the heated spaghetti.  Serve with a vegetable and garlic bread.

The Verdict

Chicken Parmesan is a ton of work to prepare, but the taste is so good!

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Cajun Baked Tilapia

9 Feb

Hi, my name is Carleen and I eat fish for breakfast. Yes, I know it is weird, but I never claimed to be normal. Let me say that I love, love, love breakfast foods…eggs, bacon, waffles, grits, fried potatoes…yum, I love them all. For some reason, though, no matter how big of a breakfast I eat, I always feel hungry a couple of hours later. Maybe it has something to do with the carbs and blood sugar levels, but breakfast never last for me. When I eat “regular” food for breakfast, it takes a little longer for me to get hungry again, and I do not have that blood sugar crash. When I eat a high protein breakfast, like tilapia and broccoli, I get the full feeling I want, without the carbs and fat. Although I will eat any kind of fish for breakfast, lately, my go to dish is Baked Tilapia. This is a quick and easy dish that I pop in the oven as I am getting dressed in the morning  and it is ready in no time.

Cajun Baked Tilapia - www.KidsWorkDinner.com

Cajun Baked Tilapia

2 Tilapia Filets

Cajun Seasoning (I use Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning)

Mrs. Dash Table Blend

Butter or Margarine

Preheat the oven to 375˚. Spray a baking dish with cooking spray, rinse fish in cool water and pat dry. Put fish into baking dish, season with Cajun seasoning and Mrs. Dash to taste. I put a little butter on each filet, about 1/8 teaspoon.  Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes.

The Verdict
Cajun Baked Tilapia is terrific! It is a quick and easy dish that is absolutely delicious! This dish is can also be made on the stove top, sautéed in butter or olive oil, but for breakfast, it is much easier to pop it into the oven.

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Heavenly Margherita Naan Pizza

3 Jan

I love pizza, but I really love Margherita Pizza. I have been trying for months to create a margherita pizza at home that rivaled the one that I used to get from 518 West Italian Grill in Raleigh, NC and I finally did it! My kids and I picked up some naan bread while at Wal-Mart to make personal pizzas for lunch today, and while I made traditional cheese pizzas for the kids, I decided to try making myself a margherita pizza.

 

Margarita Naan Pizza - www.kidsworkdinner.com

Margherita Naan Pizza

1 naan bread

Mozzarella cheese (I used sliced mozzarella)

¼ can diced tomatoes

Fresh basil or (Mrs. Dash Tomato Basil Garlic)

Garlic Powder

Olive Oil
Preheat oven to 425. Lightly brush the naan bread with olive oil and cover with mozzarella slices. Sprinkle the cheese with garlic powder, then the diced tomatoes. I was out of fresh basil, so  I sprinkled the tomatoes with the Mrs. Dash to give it added flavor and color. Bake on the lowest rack for about 10 minutes.
The Verdict
The Margherita naan pizza was delicious! The crust was crispy, the cheese was gooey, and the tomatoes were juicy. My only disappointment was that I did not make two pizzas!

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Grilled Quesadillas

2 Nov

Mexican Monday, Taco Tuesday, Fajita Friday…yep, we like Mexican food in my house! This week I made Grilled Quesadillas, and my husband, who does not normally eat Mexican food, thought they were great. This easy recipe is a great way to use leftover chicken breast.

Grilled Quesadillas

Grilled Quesadillas

4 soft tortillas

1 cup cooked shredded chicken breast

½ cup salsa

¼ cup taco sauce

½ cup shredded cheese
Mix the cooked chicken, salsa, and taco sauce together in a bowl.  Fill half of a tortilla with the chicken mixture, top with shredded cheese, and fold over. Place the folded tortilla on the grill (I used my George Foreman Grill), cooking about 2-3 minutes on each side.

 
The Verdict
Grilled Quesadillas are quick, easy, and delicious! If you like Mexican, this is a yummy at-home alternative to Taco Bell.

 
What about you?
Share your favorite Mexican dishes! My daughter would like for me to make chimichangas, so I would love a great recipe to try.

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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins!

27 Oct

I do not like pumpkin! There, I said it. The only problem is that, prior to two weeks ago, I had never actually tried “pumpkin” anything. While at a women’s retreat a couple of weeks ago someone brought “Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins”, and while the muffins looked good, as soon as I heard the word pumpkin I was like, “No thank you!”  I had instinctively turned up my nose and mumbled something about how I do not like pumpkin (very reminiscent of something my kids would do). A friend insisted that I try them, and not wanting to appear rude (or difficult), I obliged. Wow, was I surprised! The mini muffins were moist, delicious, and most importantly, full of chocolate! After my third muffin, I was hooked and was asking, no begging, for the recipe. The next day, the recipe appeared in my Facebook inbox and I could not wait to make these with my kids!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins - www.kidsworkdinner.com

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

1 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 eggs, beaten
1 c. ground pumpkin (canned)
1/2 c. cooking oil
1/3 c. chocolate chips

Mix together. For mini muffins, just spray the muffin pan, fill about half-way, and bake at 350 for about 12 minutes. Make about 40 mini muffins. For full size muffins, fill muffin cups and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins - www.kidsworkdinner.com

The Verdict

Really, do we need a verdict? What more can I say? Oh, that my kids LOVED them! Yes, my son was a little grossed out at the muffin mixture (looks a little like baby food), but thankfully the final product looks nothing like the mixture. The muffins were incredible and you will kick yourself if you do not try them.

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