Chicken Alfredo Ravioli Recipe

April 27, 2024April 4, 2025 Brandi C

Chicken Alfredo Ravioli Recipe

Chicken Alfredo Ravioli Recipe is something I came up with because I had a bunch of random things in my freezer and pantry. It was quick and easy. I served with with Caesar salad and garlic bread.

Ingredients

Bag of Tyson grilled chicken strips cut up into bite sized pieces.

Bag of frozen (or fresh) ravioli (whatever stuffing you want on the inside. I just had cheese stuffed)

Dan-O’s Cheesoning (if you have not bought this RUN NOW and get (order) some. Good grief)

Seasoning Mix

Shaved Parmesan

2 jars of Alfredo Sauce (homemade is always better)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 13×9 dish. Boil your ravioli noodles. Pop your frozen chicken in the microwave and when it is is done, cut that up into bite sized pieces. Place a thin layer of alfredo sauce on the bottom, then do a layer of your cooked ravioli, next add your seasoning, chicken, and shaved parmesan. Continue to repeat layers ending with sauce and cheese (this isn’t rocket science).

Bake, covered for about 30 minutes and then take off the foil and bake for another 15 minutes. Let it rest before serving.

Additions

So, for the next time, I want to sauté up some portobello mushrooms, onions, garlic, and maybe even some broccoli. My husband is not a fan of broccoli and chicken dishes but I think it is great, so he may have to suffer.

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Recipes and Cooking

Leftover Pork Tenderloin Magic

February 2, 2024April 4, 2025 Brandi C

Leftover Pork Tenderloin Magic

Leftover Pork Tenderloin Magic was an easy and quick thing that I threw together. I was cleaning out my freezer and I found a bag of mystery meat. We had no clue what it was, so I threw it in a bowl and left it in the fridge to thaw until the next day.

When I got home from work, I pulled it out and realized it was pork tenderloin that I had cooked in the crockpot. There wasn’t a whole lot of meat there, so I wasn’t sure what I could pair with it. When I got to sniffing around my fridge, I had a partial package of tortillas, cheese (obviously), and some romaine that needed to be used up.

In my saucepan, I added my meat. I did take some scissors and cut it up into smaller bits. Then, I added 3 T brown sugar, some chili powder, some cumin, and a dash or two of lemon juice. I popped a lid on it and set it to low.

In my large skillet, I warmed up the tortillas. Once that was done, I was able to assemble my tacos. The olives, in my fridge, were speaking to me so I had to toss those. I did dice up an onion, got out my cheddar, and washed up my lettuce. This was served up with some tortilla chips. Had I thought about it, I would have put out the salsa I had in the fridge. Oh well, I like chips and salsa any night of the week.

We were all impressed with my culinary talents!

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Souped Up Apple Junk Recipe

Recipes and Cooking

Twist on Frito Pie with Spanish Rice

March 2, 2023April 4, 2025 Brandi C

Twist on Frito Pie with Spanish Rice

Here is a Twist on Frito Pie with Spanish Rice. I had some leftover chili from the week prior. It was not enough to fill four bowls, so I stretched it with some extra ingredients and rice. This was a winner for my family. I hope I can remember everything I did. Honestly, I tend to find joy in reinventing leftovers so we aren’t eating the same thing over and over. The downsize is, I don’t remember how I made it.

Frito Pie

Chili (leftover)

Chili cheese fritos

That’s about it LOL. Have I ever written out my exciting chili recipe? I dunno. Should I add it? I dunno. Chili isn’t hard. You can even buy it in a can, which I never knew until recently. Who buys chili in a can when you can make more, with ingredients you are familiar with, and it is cheaper. Mind boggling.

Spanish Rice

I did this in the instant pot.

2 c. rice

1 can crushed tomatoes

GF Taco Seasoning

Seasoning

Cilantro (gross and didn’t use)

Minced garlic

4 c. water

Chicken bouillon

Cheddar

Green Onions (optional)

Sour cream (optional)

Jalapenos (optional)

Salsa (optional)

Directions for Spanish Rice

I put the instant pot on saute and threw in the rice and garlic (with a bit of butter to keep it from sticking). Whirl that around until the rice is sauteed up and then add in the crushed tomatoes and seasoning. Whirl more. Add in chicken bouillon and water. Turn it off and then put on the lid. The knob needs to be on the sealing function and I hit the rice button. Once it is done, I did a quick release.

Assembling the Frito Pie

Grease a 13×9 dish. On the bottom, add the rice and then the leftover chili. I crushed the bag of fritos and poured that over the top. I baked this at 350 for about 30 minutes. Then, I pulled it out and added some cheddar. I popped it back in the oven for another 15 minutes. Serve with the optional toppings above.

Recipes and Cooking

Garlic Pork Chops with Parmesan Sauce

January 20, 2022April 4, 2025 Brandi C

Garlic Pork Chops with Parmesan Sauce

Here’s another winner that has quickly become a family favorite—Garlic Pork Chops with Parmesan Sauce. This dish was not only easy to make, but it also made a fantastic soup the next day! Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post, where I turn this dish into a soup my family loves. Edited to add: The soup was a huge hit too! I absolutely love being able to cook once and enjoy two completely different meals. It’s the perfect way to stretch ingredients and minimize time in the kitchen.

Ingredients:

Pork Chops (I used boneless, but any cut will work)
Seasoning (your choice—garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper)
Bacon grease (or oil of your choice)
Butter

For the Parmesan Sauce:

2 cups heavy cream
2 cups parmesan cheese
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
Spinach (chopped, a handful or more to taste)
Fresh mushrooms (chopped)
Onion (chopped)
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional, for a little heat)

Instructions:

Cook the Pork Chops:
- In an electric skillet, add bacon grease (or oil) and butter.
- Season the pork chops well with your seasoning mix and fry them up until golden brown on each side. Once cooked through, remove them from the skillet and set aside.
Make the Parmesan Sauce:
- In the same skillet, add the heavy cream, parmesan cheese, garlic, spinach, mushrooms, onion, and red pepper flakes (if using).
- Stir the ingredients together until the sauce thickens to your desired consistency. If you’d like to keep the chops warm, place them back into the skillet and simmer on low. Alternatively, you can serve the sauce on the side, spooning it over each chop when ready.
Serve and Enjoy:
- Once the pork chops are cooked and the sauce is ready, plate your chops and pour the parmesan sauce generously over the top.
- If you want to take it further, double the batch so you have leftovers for a delicious soup the next day!

Final Thoughts:

This dish is not only simple to make but also incredibly versatile. The Garlic Pork Chops with Parmesan Sauce are rich and flavorful on their own, but turning the leftovers into soup the next day takes it to a whole new level! It’s the perfect example of how cooking once can give you two completely different meals, saving you time while keeping things exciting in the kitchen. Enjoy the best of both worlds with this tasty and efficient recipe!

Integrity

Recipes and Cooking

Mexican Lasagna Created From Leftovers

May 21, 2021April 4, 2025 Brandi C

Mexican Lasagna Created From Leftovers

Well, my my my, I had no idea my Mexican Lasagna Created From Leftovers would taste so good. A few days ago, I made Philly Cheesesteaks Sandwiches. I had a lot of the meat leftover, which I used instead of ground beef.

Ingredients

Steak um’s (you can use ground beef)

Salt-free garlic and herb seasoning

Seasoning

Creole Seasoning

Orange, yellow, and red peppers, chopped

Fresh garlic

Onion, chopped

Two cans of diced tomatoes

1/3 white queso Velveeta

Can of drained whole kernel corn

Directions

I placed my meat and veggies in the pan and sauteed them. You can add oil, bacon grease, or butter to keep them from sticking. Once that was done, I seasoned it until it tasted like I wanted it to taste.

Next, I added corn and diced tomatoes. My husband doesn’t like tomatoes like that, so I covered my pot and let them stew down. Then, I added the white queso Velveeta. Taste to adjust the seasoning.

Rice

2 c. of water

2 c. of rice

Place on “rice” mode in your instant pot. Let naturally release.

Layering

Put a small amount of sauce in a greased 13×9 dish. Then, place in flour tortillas; next, sauce. Then, rice. Finally, I had some Colby/jack cheese cubes. I broke those over the rice and added a bit of cheddar. Repeat layers ending with cheese.

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes and serve.

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Recipes and Cooking

Simple Ham Pockets Recipe

May 1, 2019April 4, 2025 Brandi C

Simple Ham Pockets Recipe

This Simple Ham Pockets Recipe is so easy for a busy night. Sadly, the week I made this was jam-packed with doctors’ appointments and busyness. I struggle to keep my eyes above the waves on a week like this. In my moments of stillness, I sent off 5 cards to people to tell them I loved them. Also, I whipped this up because I did not have the energy to do anything else.

Simple Ham Pockets Recipe

~ Ham (I used about 1/2 of a pre-sliced KY Legend ham)

~Minced Onions

~Seasoning mix

~Cream cheese

~Cheddar Cheese

~4 Buttery Crescent rolls

Directions:

I put in all ingredients except the crescent rolls in a food processor. I blended that well until Ham, and the cream cheese was mixed.

Transfer all of that to a bowl. Add more cheddar if you want. I did cause I like cheddar.

Roll out your crescent roll dough. Place your mixture at the larger end of the dough and roll.

It made 24 stuffed crescent rolls. There was 2 rolls leftover that I just cooked with the stuffed ones.

Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 350 for 12 minutes.

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Recipes and Cooking

Healthy Chicken and Rice Recipe

April 26, 2019April 4, 2025 Brandi C

Healthy Chicken and Rice Recipe

Let me say that there is SO much you can add to this! When I make this again, and I will, there are several things that I will add. The reason why I didn’t this time is that I am “shelf” cooking. We desperately needed to go to the grocery, so I used what I had on hand.

I will put “optional” on each thing I will use next time. The recipe can be loaded up with veggies and goodness. There was one mistake that I made. I put the rice in raw, which did not cook well. This is a technique that I use with Easy Brunzi Baseball Casserole. That always works well. However, I had to add more chicken broth, cover, and cook it longer this time.

Lesson learned.

Healthy Chicken and Rice Casserole

Use 3 chicken breasts (I cooked these in 1 c. of water, with seasoning and minced onions in my instant pot). Once it was cooked, I cut it up into chunks. I used 1.5 c. of the chicken stock. Next time, I will use 2 cups of chicken stock.

In a big bowl, I put all my chicken, broth, 1 can of cream of chicken, a block of cream cheese, seasoning mix, 2 packets of the dry ranch, 1 c. rice (COOK THAT FIRST), and some cheddar.

Next time, I will add 1 steamed bag of cauliflower rice, possibly broccoli, fresh mushrooms, and chopped-up spinach. Oh, that would be so good.

I put all of that in a greased 13×9 dish. The topping was 2 sleeves of ritz crackers with some butter in them. I ran that through the food processor. Spread that over the top of the casserole and add a bit more cheddar.

Cook at 350 for 30 minutes, covered. Then, I uncovered it for about 20 minutes. It was delicious.

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Recipes and Cooking

Healthy Beef with Chinese Vegetables and Rice

January 5, 2015April 4, 2025 Brandi C

Healthy Beef with Chinese Vegetables and Rice

Healthy Beef with Chinese Vegetables and Rice

Healthy Beef with Chinese Vegetables and Rice is not a recipe my kids are thrilled about when I make it. I have learned some tricks and how to season the meat, in order for them to enjoy it. This is a quick and easy recipe in that you can substitute Cauliflower Rice instead of traditional rice.

1 lb. stew meat (I cut this into small pieces and I marinate it all day in Teriyaki sauce)

1 c. broccoli

2 cans of water chestnuts

1 can mushrooms

32 oz. stir-fry vegetables

Seasoning

2 T. soy sauce

6 c. white rice, cooked

This serves about 12

Calories per serving: 203

Fat per serving: 4

Love

I love the robustness (is that a word) of beef stew. It is so warming to my belly and my heart. This reminds me of growing up and smelling it in the kitchen. We didn’t have a lot of money, but this was one where you could use tons of veggies and little meat. It would still fill you up on a cold day. Now, my mom didn’t cook her beef stew with rice. She used tried and true potatoes!

This dish has become a go-to for me when I want something hearty and nutritious without a ton of fuss. One of the best things about Healthy Beef with Chinese Vegetables and Rice is that you can really make it your own. Swap out veggies based on what you have or what’s in season. If you’re low on time, using frozen stir-fry vegetables is a game-changer. The marinade really helps the beef stay tender, and that punch of flavor wins the kids over—even if they still grumble about the water chestnuts. It’s a budget-friendly way to stretch meat and sneak in extra vegetables. Win-win!

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Tag: quick meals