Tag: stretching your budget

Greek Chicken and Veggies Sheet Pan Dinner

My goal for the summer is to spend the least amount of time possible in the kitchen and the perfect way to accomplish that is to cook meals that require me not standing around the stove! Sheet pan dinners are perfect for this!

Now this meal did require some prep but you can cut down by not marinating the chicken ahead of time or preparing during a weekly meal prep. Let’s cook!

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of chicken (I used boneless, skinless chicken tenders and thighs to cut down on cooking time. If you use larger pieces or skin cook for an extra 20-25 minutes or until chicken reaches internal temperature of 165 degrees)
  • 1 cup Greek Vinaigrette (I used Ken’s)
  • 2-3 tablespoons of oregano
  • 2-3 tablespoons of garlic salt
  • 2-3 tablespoons of all purpose seasoning (I used Trader Joe’s 21 seasoning salute but Italian seasoning can work here as well)
  • 1/4 cup of olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
  • 8-10 cloves of garlic minced
  • 1/2 red onion finely chopped
  • 1 lemon
  • 1-2 cups zucchini sliced into coins
  • 1-2 cups yellow squash sliced into coins
  • 1-2 cups of yellow potatoes quartered

Directions:

Place chicken in bowl and add 1/3 of olive oil, 1/3 cup of Greek vinaigrette, 1/3 of minced garlic, 1/3 garlic salt, 1/3 oregano, 1/3 all purpose seasoning & 1/3 red onion. Add juice of 1/2 lemon. Add all of red wine vinegar. Mix until chicken is coated and set aside to marinate for at least one hour. When ready to cook, pre heat oven to 400. As a shortcut I pre-cooked my potatoes only in the microwave for 3 minutes so they would be fork tender. In another bowl add potatoes and 1/3 of Greek vinaigrette, oil, seasonings, garlic and red onion. Mix to coat and add to sheet pan sprayed with oil. Repeat with zucchini and squash in same bowl and then add to sheet pan. Add juice of the other half of the lemon over veggies. Cook in oven for 45-50 minutes or chicken reaches internal temp of 165 then (you may want to check and turn the chicken and veggies about 20 minutes into baking). Set oven on broil and broil for 5-8 minutes. I garnished with crumbled feta cheese, kalamata olives, and banana pepper rings. Then dinner is done!!!

The flavors of this meal were amazing and we all enjoyed it. It was even better the next day as leftovers. We will definitely add this to the rotation. Make sure you check out my reels on Instagram to see how I made this!

Love Ricki

Come cook with me on IG Live – Steak Bites and Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes

Hi y’all! Tomorrow December 13th, 2020 I will be hosting another free cooking class on Instagram Live and we will be making another easy delicious meal! I will go live at 2:30 pm CST and below if the recipes for what we’ll be making! Hope to see y’all there for some fun!!!

Ingredients for Steak Bites:

2-3 boneless steaks (I prefer Ribeye) – cut into 1 to 1 ½ inch cubes
2-3 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 onion sliced into half moons
1 ½ cups of sliced mushrooms
Steak Marinade – Use any from your local grocery store, however if you use A-1 steak sauce use sparingly as it can be
salty
Seasonings – You can use any steak seasonings you prefer, I used Tony’s Creole Seasoning, garlic and onion powder, garlic and herb seasoning and Montreal Steak seasoning


Ingredients for mashed potatoes


4-5 Russet Potatoes
1 block of cream cheese at room temperature
Garlic powder, Salt, Dry ranch dressing mix, Pepper
½ cup of grated Parmesan cheese
1 stick of butter
½ cup of heavy whipping cream (can also use half & half or milk)

Directions:

For Steak Bites: Take cubed steak and season
with preferred seasonings and add steak marinade to a gallon zip loc bag. Refrigerate at least one hour. Set out on counter at least one hour prior to cooking. Heat olive oil
and butter in skillet or pan with non-stick coating on medium heat. Once pan is hot add onions and mushrooms and sauté until semi soft and remove from pan. Turn heat to medium high and add steak. Sear steak bites on both sides
and then turn heat back to medium low and add back onions and mushrooms. Let simmer in pan for about 5 more minutes and then turn off pan but do not remove from burner.

For Garlic Mashed Potatoes (Instant Pot):
Add potatoes to the instant pot and fill with enough water to cover. Set on manual for 12 minutes and don’t forget to set vent to sealing. Once done perform quick release (set vent to venting to release steam). Open instant pot and drain water from potatoes. Can place back in Instant Pot (make sure it is
turned off or it will keep cooking! Ask me how I know!) and then add cream cheese, butter, seasonings and mash. Add grated parmesan cheese and mix well. Add heavy whipping
cream gradually depending on how thick and creamy you desire.

Love Ricki

Philly Cheesesteak Ring – Yes another Ring!

Hi y’all I am back this week with a not so original recipe but DEFINITELY a fav! Listen we love rings in this household. The crescent roll dough is delicious and easy to work with and you can take just about any filling you can think of and add it for a delicious combination. Of course I’ve made Cheesesteak sliders here and Cheesesteak egg rolls here so naturally a ring was next. This recipe was super easy and you can add chips and fruit for easy sides and dinner is done! Let’s cook!

Ingredients:

  • Thin sliced steak
  • 1 yellow onion sliced into half moons
  • 1 pepper sliced into strips
  • 2-3 tbsp of butter
  • 1 tbsp of olive oil
  • Sliced mushrooms (optional)
  • 1-2 tsps of minced garlic
  • Seasonings: I used Tony’s seasoning, onion and garlic powder and steak seasoning
  • 2 cans of crescent rolls
  • 5-6 slices of provolone cheese
  • 4-5 slices of Gouda (this is optional, you can use all provolone or any cheese you like. Smoked Gouda would have bee delicious here as well)
  • Cooking spray

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Add butter to skillet on medium high heat. Add peppers and then after a minute or so add onions. Sauté veggies and turn heat to medium. I add a little salt to this mixture to help it sweat and give a little flavor but that’s optional. After veggies are softened add mushrooms and minced garlic. Sauté til mushrooms are softened. Turn heat on high and add steak. I season steak while in the pan but you can season ahead of time as well and just add seasoned meat. Once cooked thru which should be 3-5 minutes, turn off burner and take pan off heat and set aside. In a round pizza pan or cookie sheet spread triangles of crescent dough around until it forms a shape resembling a sun (see pics). Add veggies and meat mixture and then add cheese on top. Bring points of the triangles to the center. Spray with cooking spray to help crust brown. Bake for 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown and completely baked thru. Slice and serve.

We will be making this again and believe me I am dreaming up more ring recipes to add to the blog! If you try this please tag me on Instagram @severalpeoplesmama

Love Ricki

Chicken Pesto Ring

Y’all know I love a good ring made with crescent rolls! Y’all seem to love them too and this one will be no different! I mean one of the things I’m most known for is the infamous Taco Ring lol. So I decided to take the Chicken Pesto Ranch recipe we enjoy so much and added to a ring and it was the bomb.com (do people still say that? well I just did). I came about this when I made pepperoni rolls and because my kids are greedy I decided to make a chicken version as well. Sometimes their greed pays off lol. Let’s make this ring!

Ingredients:

  • 2-3 chicken breasts or chicken tenderloins
  • Jarred pesto
  • 1/2 cup to Half and half or heavy whipping cream
  • 2 cans of crescent rolls
  • 1-2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 1/2 cup to 1 cup of grated or shredded Parmesan cheese
  • Dry ranch dressing mix
  • Seasoning- I used Montreal Chicken, garlic powder, garlic salt
  • 1-2 tbsp of lemon juice
  • Bacon bits (optional)
  • 2 tbsp of butter

Directions:

Preheat oven on 375. Season chicken with seasoning, ranch dressing mix, and you can also add a tbsp of pesto. Cook chicken on stove or grill or in the oven until cooked thru. Set aside to cool. Don’t chop until cooled or you will dry it out. Now let’s make a sauce. Melt butter in saucepan on medium high heat, then add half and half or heavy whipping cream. Add garlic salt, 2 tbsp of pesto and bring to a simmer. Whisk in Parmesan cheese until melted. Turn off sauce and it will thicken when it cools. Chop chicken in bite size pieces. Lay out crescent rolls in star pattern in sheet pan. Add thin layer of sauce. Add layer of chicken then bacon bits of using and then cheese. Fold over crescent rolls points. Bake in oven for 15 to 20 minutes until crescent rolls are baked fully.

I paired this with Caprese salad and it was soo good. Easy to make too so it’s perfect for a Saturday meal or lunch. Make sure to tag me if you make this @severalpeoplesmama on IG!

Love Ricki

Shrimp Stuffed Shells with Easy Garlic Bread

This recipe right here!!! If you know us you know we absolutely LOVE seafood and almost any recipe that uses it is a winner in our book. This dinner did not disappoint! We used shrimp but you could add crab meat or crawfish or switch it out completely and use chicken. And the garlic bread is so easy to prep and make and tastes so much better than store bought. We truly enjoyed this meal and we hope you try it and enjoy it as well. Let’s cook!

Ingredients (For Shells)

  • 1 box of jumbo shells
  • 1/2 to 1 lb of shrimp (you can use precooked but I prefer raw so the shrimp are not overcooked)
  • 4 tbsp of butter, divided
  • 2-3 tbsp of olive oil
  • 3 tbsp of minced garlic
  • 1/4 cup chopped onion
  • 1 bag of fresh spinach (can use frozen just pre cook in microwave and make sure to squeeze out as much liquid as you can)
  • 1 block of cream cheese (softened)
  • 1-2 cups of shredded cheese, Italian mix
  • 1-2 cups of shredded cheese, Mozzarella
  • 1-2 cups of Parmesan cheese (you can use grated but I prefer the fresh for this recipe. You can find it in the refrigerated section of your grocery store)
  • 2 cups of half and half or heavy whipping cream or combo of both
  • 1/2 cup of white wine (optional or you can use chicken broth or water and a bouillon cube)
  • 1 cup of sliced mushrooms (optional)
  • Seasonings: I used garlic salt & powder, onion powder, ranch dressing mix, Cajun seasoning and Italian seasoning

Directions:

Cook shells was directed. I add oil and salt to my water. Drain and set aside to cool. Reserve a cup of pasta water. Spray with cooking spray so your shells won’t stick together. Melt 1-2 tbsp of butter with the olive oil in a skillet on medium. Add onions and 2 tbsp of garlic and sauté. Add mushrooms if using. Cook til soft. Add spinach and sauté til wilted. Finally add shrimp. I did preseason my shrimp with garlic powder and Cajun seasoning. Cook shrimp til almost thru. Do not overcook. Drain shrimp and veggie mixture and add to a bowl with softened cream cheese. Keep the liquid and place back in the pan after draining as this is the base for our sauce. Combine shrimp mixture with cream cheese and add Italian mix cheese and Parmesan cheese if using. Lightly season mixture with garlic powder, ranch dressing mix and onion powder.

Now let’s make the sauce. With liquid in pan turn on high heat. Add white wine and let alcohol cook off which should be 3-5 minutes. Turn heat to medium high and add another tablespoon butter and the remaining tbsp of minced garlic. Stir til melted. Whisk in half and half or heavy whipping cream. Once it starts simmering add Parmesan cheese by whisking in slowly and add seasonings. Turn heat to medium low and let simmer for about 3-5 minutes. Don’t walk away because you don’t want to burn your sauce. Make sure to taste sauce to see if you need additional seasoning. Turn off and cover. While sauce is sitting it will thicken. If you need to thin it out add pasta water while on low heat. Add 1/4 cup of sauce to bottom of 9×13 baking dish. Go ahead and stuff your shells with the shrimp mixture and add to dish. Once dish is full cover the shells with sauce. Spread layer of Italian cheese mix and Mozzarella on top. I also sprinkled Parmesan cheese and a shake of Italian seasoning. Bake on 350 for about 20-25 minutes until cheese is melted thru. I also placed my dish under the broiler for 2-3 minutes because I love those brown bits of cheese. Enjoy with Easy Garlic Bread and a side salad.

Easy Garlic Bread

Ingredients:

  • 1 stick of softened butter (not melted) just let it sit out on the counter that morning
  • 1 tbsp of minced garlic
  • 1 tsp of garlic salt
  • 1 tsp of Italian seasoning
  • Fresh basil (optional)
  • 1 squeeze of fresh lemon (optional)
  • 1 loaf of French or Italian bread cut in half lengthwise
  • Italian cheese (optional)

Directions:

Turn on broiler. Mix butter and seasonings & lemon juice together. Spread on bread. I add cheese to one half of the loaf and leave the other half with just the butter. Put under broiler for 2-3 minutes. Watch closely and don’t walk away or you will burn the bread (ask me how I know lol). Serve with your favorite pasta dish.

I can’t tell y’all again how delicious this meal was! We will be adding this to our dinner rotation. I added video from when I made this in my highlights on my IG page so go there if you need a little help and I am always available in the DMs! Also tag me if you make this!

Love Ricki