Tag: meal planning

Quick Crab Wontons

Last night I decided to share a video on how I made some quick crab wontons to go with our dinner. We had teriyaki chicken & fried rice and even though I could have made egg rolls this was a faster and easier alternative! Check out the video on my IGTV @severalpeoplesmama. Here is the recipe!

Ingredients:

  • One 8 ounce package of softened cream cheese
  • One package of flake stye imitation crab meat
  • One stalk of green onions chopped
  • Seasoning: I used garlic salt, onion powder and a dash of ranch
  • 1 package of wonton wrappers (you will find this near the salad section in your grocery store)
  • Vegetable or canola oil

Directions:

Heat oil on medium heat (about 350 if using an electric fryer). Mix cream cheese, crab meat, green onions, and seasonings with a fork breaking up the crab meat. Then spoon a quarter size in to the wonton wrapper. Dab water on your finger and run along each side of the wrapper. Fold wrapper in half til it forms a triangle. Pinch sides in (it will kind of look like a diaper lol). After making several drop in hot oil and cook til golden brown, this will not take long so don’t go anywhere! Repeat til finished and drain on paper towel.

These are delicious on their own or dipped in soy, duck or sweet and sour sauce. Lil Diva enjoyed helping make them because she said it was like origami!

As always tag me on IG if you make them!

Love Ricki

Easy Weeknight Dinner Part 2 – Pesto Ranch Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner

Need another easy weeknight dinner? I got you!!! This is also a remix of a main dish featured in my Cook Yo Meals Dinner Inspiration Cookbook that I usually make in the crockpot or Instapot. But I have to honestly say I enjoy just as much this way to! So let’s get cooking!

Ingredients:

  • 3-4 boneless skinless chicken breast butterflied in half (check my highlights on Instagram to see what I mean)
  • 1/4-1/2 cup of olive oil
  • 1 dry ranch seasoning packet
  • 1/4 – 1/2 cup prepared pesto
  • 1 package of petite gold or red potatoes
  • 2 – 3 cups of broccoli and cauliflower
  • Seasoning (I used garlic salt and powder, onion powder, lemon pepper and black pepper
  • 1/2 onion finely chopped
  • 1-2 cloves of garlic minced
  • Bacon bits (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Start by rinsing and drying your veggies and potatoes. Make sure you dry them! Especially the potatoes or they won’t crisp up in the oven. Add veggies to a bowl and add 2 – 3 tablespoons of olive oil, your seasonings and 1/3 of the ranch seasoning. You can also add some pesto but I just added bacon bits instead. Add a dash of the chopped onions and garlic. Mix together thoroughly and make sure the veggies are coated in the oil and seasoning and then spread on 1/3 of the sheet pan or a 9 x 13 glass dish. Repeat steps with potatoes in same bowl. I added pesto to the potatoes and left out the bacon bits this time. Add to the pan. Finally in same bowl add chicken and repeat steps to season. Add to sheet pan and place in oven for 25 minutes. Turn meat, potatoes and veggies so it can cook on all sides. Bake for an additional 25 to 30 minutes until chicken is tender and clear juices come out when pierced with a fork. You can turn on the broiler for about 5 minutes to give everything a crispier texture but I found everything was cooked perfectly and the potatoes were almost perfect!

I love this dish because I only dirtied a bowl and a sheet pan. And the veggies! Y’all if you never roasted your veggies in the oven you’re playing yourself! Even Lil Diva likes them and she’s my resident veggie hater.

If you try this please tag me on Instagram @severalpeoplesmama and also highlights of both this recipe and the Goulash recipe are posted on my page to guide you in making a delicious dinner for you and/or your family!!!

Love Ricki

Make this and wings for the Super Bowl! Naked Chicken Fries (Tenders) in 2 Sauces

In my next cookbook I want to focus on foods that will be quick, easy, budget & kid friendly (Lil Diva approved)! This recipe is all of those things! And it’s Keto Friendly to boot!  I would make these along with wings for your next Super Bowl party, you can just double the recipe for the sauces and use it to dip your wings and the chicken fries. Let’s cook!

Ingredients:

  • 2-3 Chicken breasts cut into thin strips
  • 1 to 1 1/2 cups of vegetable and canola oil
  • Seasoning of choice – I used dry ranch dressing mix, Tony’s creole seasoning and garlic and onion powder
  • 2 sticks of salted butter
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • Juice of 1 lemon, as well as zest
  • 2 teaspoons of cracked black pepper, divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon of lemon pepper seasoning
  • 1/2 teaspoon of garlic salt
  • Grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Pre-heat oven and 350 degrees and heat oil in skillet. I use an electric skillet that was under $20 bucks from Walmart and I only use it for frying. I love it because you can set the temperature so you know what you’re cooking at. Season the chicken. Don’t go heavy on the seasoning, if you just use salt and pepper that’s fine because you will be coating the chicken in sauce. Drop chicken in oil. Watch closely, the chicken is thin and cooks up quickly.

While cooking melt butter in microwave for about a minute. Separate butter in two bowls big enough for the chicken to sit in. Add minced garlic and garlic salt to one bowl and the lemon juice, zest, 1 tsp of black pepper and the lemon pepper seasoning to the other. Once chicken is done drain on paper towel for 1-2 minutes and then add to sauces. Mix chicken in sauces and let sit for 3-5 minutes.

Then add to a cookie sheet. Repeat til all chicken is coated in the sauce. Sprinkle garlic parmesan chicken with grated parmesan and the lemon pepper chicken with the other teaspoon of cracked black pepper. Bake in oven for 3-5 minutes, we just want to bake the sauce in the chicken really well.

Enjoy with ranch or blue cheese dressing and carrots & celery sticks.

You can have a simple Super Bowl or any type of party at home by making these and the Easy Cheesesteak Slider and you are set! Well I would add a little adult beverage and then I’m set lol! Let me know if you try this and make sure to tag me on IG @severalpeoplesmama or share in the Cook Yo Meals Facebook Group!

Love Ricki

 

Easy Cheesesteak Sliders

I have received so many DMs and messages on IG and Facebook about this recipe so I knew I had to get this blog post up STAT! It’s funny because this was really a spare of the moment thing that I decided to try. My Hunny took me and the kids to Dave and Buster’s a few weekends ago and Middle Diva ordered a Philly Cheesesteak sandwich. She kept saying how good it was and ate it all before I could get a bite *side eye*. So when I was in the grocery store this past weekend I saw beef shaved steak on sale and decided to make my own version as sliders using our fav Hawaiian Sweet Rolls. It was a hit! I’m sure this is on Pinterest already a hundred thousand times but that’s why I love cooking because you can always put your own spin on things! Here’s my version of Cheesesteak Sliders:

Ingredients:

  • 1 package of Beef Shaved Steak (the one I used was 14 oz and more than enough for 4 people)
  • 1 medium onion sliced
  • 1/2 green bell pepper sliced (feel free to use more if you like)
  • 3 tablespoons of butter (you will use 1 to cook the veggies and the other 2 to melt over your rolls)
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • 1 package of Provolone cheese
  • To season my meat I used approximately 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp of Seasoning salt (Tony’s), onion powder, garlic powder, pepper, & about 1-2 tsp of Steak sauce (use sparingly because it could get salty real quick!)
  • 1 package of Hawaiian rolls (12 count)

Directions:

I first started by preheating my oven to 350 degrees. In a medium sized sauce pan I added the olive oil and a tablespoons butter and let it melt on medium low. I turned it up to medium high and then added the onions and peppers and sautéed them for about 2-3 minutes then I put the heat on low and let them simmer while I seasoned my beef.

I cooked the beef on my electric griddle but you can certainly turn up the heat to medium high on the same pan you cooked the veggies (I would remove the veggies and then add back in when closer to the beef being done.) I added the beef to a hot griddle and then added my steak sauce and then once the beef was almost cooked added the veggies. This goes fast because the beef is thin so be mindful of that. Turn the heat down if need be you don’t want to burn your meat!

I cut my package of Hawaiian rolls in half by slicing the lengthwise similar to if you were leveling a cake. I then added a light layer of mayonnaise (optional) and then my cooked meat and veggies, and topped off with the cheese and then the top half of the rolls. I melted the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in the microwave and added a dash of garlic and onion powder. I then poured that over the top of the buns and put in the oven about 10-15 minutes so the cheese would melt. I removed from the oven and sliced the rolls and served with tater tots. This would be good with chips or fries and a side of fruit for dinner or serve this as part of your spread for Super Bowl Sunday!

If you make this recipe please share by tagging me on IG @severalpeoplesmama! I love to see y’all cook!

Also don’t forget to join our Cook Yo Meals community on Facebook! We are sharing meal plans, dinner inspiration and just learning new ways to get a meal on the table. If you’re interested click here.

Love Ricki

Easy Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas

Hi y’all and Happy New Year!!! Today I wanted to share a quick and easy recipe that my family absolutely loved. It took no time to throw together so it’s perfect for weekends when you don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. You could also prep it ahead a time and cook it in the slow cooker for 3-4 hours on low while you’re at work during the week. Serve the fajita meat over nachos in a burrito or chimichanga or if you’re keto like me put it over a salad. Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

  • 2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
  • 2-3 tabs of olive oil (or oil of choice)
  • 1 red, green, yellow or orange peppers sliced (I used a combo of all three)
  • 1 whole onion sliced
  • Ranchaco seasoning (Coming soon!) but you can use a combination or taco and ranch seasoning
  • 1/2 teaspoon of garlic and onion powder
  • Juice of on lime (optional)
  • 1/4 cup of cilantro (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Clean chicken and slice in uniform pieces. Make sure you keep everything similar size so it cooks evenly.

Add chicken to sliced veggies. Pour oil and mix. Season chicken and veggies and mix thoroughly so seasoning is well coated on food. Spray sheet pan with oil or cover with foil. Spread chicken and veggies on sheet pan. Make sure it is one layer so don’t overcrowd your pan, use two if necessary.

Cook in oven for about 15-20 minutes then take out and turn meat over. Let cook for an additional 15-20 minutes. Remove from over and squeeze lime and cilantro over chicken and serve.

I hope you enjoy this recipe. I have started a new Facebook group which is all about food inspiration, meal planning and fun! If you’d like to join click the link here.

Love Ricki