Easy On-Hand Spinach Dip

I had the munchies tonight.  Not hungry enough for a real meal, but hungry enough for something to snack on.  I took a look around the kitchen to see what I had.  Cream of Chicken soup.  As much as I love that right by itself, that really wasn't what I wanted.  I had club crackers, but who wants plain old crackers?  I needed something to eat WITH them...  I opened the freezer...ice cubes, a pack of chicken, a couple of Popsicles, and some spinach.  That's when it hit me!  Spinach Dip!  I wanted Spinach Dip!!!  But...how was I going to make that?  A quick peek in the fridge revealed some shredded mozzarella.  Now we're cooking!

I've had a couple of people tell me they are counting carbs or calories, so I figured I'd go ahead and do that for you.  Check your containers, though.  They do vary depending on the brand.

1 can of Cream of Chicken Soup (18g carbs, 70 calories)
2 cups of frozen spinach (3g carbs, 30 calories)
1/2 cup of mozzarella (2g Carbs, 80 calories)

I mixed everything in a small baking dish, and put it in the oven on 350 for about thirty minutes. When the top was lightly brown, I took it out, and let it cool for a few minutes.  As it cools, it thickens up a little bit.  It makes about 2 2/3 cups of dip, by the time the spinach cooks down and everything melts together.  I didn't see what the sodium content was, but between the mozzarella and the soup, it was definitely salty.  I think when I make it again, I will double the recipe and use one can of Cream of Mushroom to cut the saltiness.  You could also use a different cheese.  A mild cheddar or colby jack would probably be nice.  Nonetheless, it was very tasty!  If you're craving a salty snack, this one's for you!

We'll say a serving is 1/3 cup, though I ate an entire cup of it.  Hey, I'm considering it supper, lol.  Anyway, if we count a serving as 1/3 cup, that would have 22.5 calories and 2.75 carbs. I ate it with the club crackers, which I did NOT check the carb content of.  I think I would rather have cut up and baked some whole wheat tortillas with it.  I'll have to buy some and try this again.  See?  Already, I'm thinking of how to make it different the next go around. Hope you enjoy it!  Use what you've got, and make it your own.  Alright!  Get cooking!  :D

Leftover hashbrowns? Time for a Breakfast Bake!

Good Morning, my blogging friends!  I have a quick and easy recipe for you today.  Hash brown Breakfast Bake!  We eat at Huddle House allllll the time.  I'm notorious for taking our leftovers home...and those belonging to anyone else sitting at the table with us, lol.  Hash browns and bacon or sausage are my favorites, because you can very easily do a quick meal with them the next day.  Here's how!

First of all, you will need....
Leftover hash browns (or frozen, shredded hash browns, thawed out and drained)
sausage or bacon
cooking spray or margarine
cheese
eggs

You can use a nonstick cooking pan, but I used a little personal sized iron frying pan.  That way I could eat it straight out of the pan, lol.  Hey!  Less dishes to wash!!!!  Ok, so, you lightly grease your pan with either margarine or the spray.  We don't want those taters to stick.  Put your hash browns in the pan.  Sprinkle your bacon or sausage (and whatever other yummy leftovers you want to use) over the hash browns.  Cover it with the some cheese, and bake in the oven until brown and bubbly.  After you take it out of the oven, let it cool while you cook your eggs.  Then, just slap those babies on top of your hash browns and eat up!

This would be so yummy with a handful of mushrooms, onions, peppers, or tomatoes.  You could even use ham or steak for a completely different flavor.  However you want to make it, it's a cheap, easy and quick meal.  Hope you enjoy this little "on hand" leftover recipe!  Happy cooking!  :D

Melt-in-you-mouth, make you want to lick the plate, Parmesan Fish and Spinach!

Now, I know there has been all this talk about nasty, poisonous fish here lately.  And we have seen all kinds of videos on facebook that would make you never want to eat fish again.  Well, I still like fish.  I don't just like it...I LOVE it!  And honestly, living in the south, if you don't eat fish once in a while...there is totally something wrong with you, lol.  Whether you like fish or not, this is one of my favorite fish recipes.  If you try it once, I'll bet you'll want to eat it again.  Even Natalie loves this dish.  It's one of the few "plate cleaner" recipes I have for her.  Now, once again, this is made with things I normally buy and keep in the freezer or fridge.  It's super good and super easy!  Let's get cooking!

Margarine
Frozen, boneless fish fillets (I prefer a white fish, but you can try whatever you like)
Frozen Spinach
Grated Parmesan Cheese (out of the jar)
Shredded cheese of your choice of flavor (I like the Mexican blend or anything with Colby in it.)
Cajun seasoning
Dried Parsley Flakes
(You could switch out any of these seasonings for what you have or what you like.  Garlic, onion flakes, oregano, lemon pepper (that one is especially nice)...the possibilities are endless!)

Now, I cook ours in a glass pie dish.  I like how it cooks, and the small amount we need fits just right.  You can increase or decrease accordingly.  :)  I start off by greasing the pan with margarine.  (You can use cooking spray.)  Then, I sprinkle a good amount of still frozen spinach in the bottom of the pan, covering it if I have enough.  Sprinkle a little of the Parmesan cheese over it, but not too much.  Parmesan is very salty!  Then, in a small bowl, I combine about a half a stick of margarine and a few good sprinkles of my Cajun seasoning and parsley flakes.  (Again, you could use a little olive oil or cooking spray in place of the margarine.)  I leave my fish frozen, and then smear the seasoned butter over the fillets.  Place them over the spinach.  I usually cook 5 fillets, so that we can have leftovers.  If you have any of the seasoned margarine left, sprinkle it over the spinach.  Sprinkle just a little Parmesan over the fish...Again, not too much.  It will be too salty to eat.  Cover the dish with tin foil, and bake in the oven on 350*.  I don't time anything.  I go by the smell test, lol.  If it smells done, I check on it, lol.  When the fish is translucent and beginning to fall apart, take the tin foil off, and cover the fish with your shredded cheese. You may want to take a fork and pull the spinach up underneath the edges of the fish to help keep it moist.  Put it back in the oven, and bake until bubbly and golden, brown.  Let it sit just a minute before you plate it.  It holds in the juices and firms the fish back up so you can plate it a little easier.  We absolutely LOVE this dish.  I hope you do too!  Happy Cooking!  :D
                                                                                                                                                     

Crock Pot Breakfast Casserole, and it's not just for breakfast!

I'm forever trying to figure out ways to use stale bread.  Natalie and I don't eat enough bread to ever use it up before it goes stale.  I do freeze bread sometimes, so this would be a good way to use frozen or leftover biscuits, rolls, etc.  You can also adjust this recipe to fit your tastes!  I think it would be great with sauteed mushrooms and a can of cream of mushroom soup...or with sauteed onions and peppers.  I can think of so many variations.  Use your imagination and use what's "on hand"  This recipe took a little prep time...more than I usually put into a dish, lol.  It was worth it, though.  Also, you could easily use leftover cooked sausage or bacon, and that would definitely shorten your cook time.  As would toasting your bread ahead of time.  This was what I had, so this is what I used.  :)

About a cup of ground sausage.  (I used deer sausage, because that's what I had in the freezer.)

5 slices of stale bread

2 cups of milk, plus 1/4 cup

a couple of TBS of flour

margerine or cooking spray

3 eggs (could have used a couple more, but that was what I had)

1 1/2 cups shredded cheese

3/4 cup frozen spinach (all that was left in the bag, lol.)

salt and pepper to taste.  (you can substitute grated Parmesan cheese for the salt.  It's plenty salty enough, and gives it a great flavor.)

First of all, I cubed the bread and baked it in the oven until toasted, hard.  (Whatever bread you use, make sure to cut it into cubes or chunks and toast it.  It helps it to absorb the liquids and keeps it creamy.)  While that toasted, I greased the bottom and sides of my crock pot with a little margarine.  You could use cooking spray, though.  I also started browning my sausage.  I usually add a little splash of water in my sausage when I brown it.  It seems to help it break into smaller pieces.  I was out of cream of anything soup, so I had to make my own gravy, lol.  Which led to the next step!  When the sausage was cooked all the way through, I sprinkled the sausage (still in the pan) with the flour.  Deer sausage is very lean, so I didn't bother to drain the grease off of it.  When the flour was cooked, I stirred in the 2 cups of milk, making sausage gravy.  While that simmered, I checked my bread.  It was done, so I took it out to cool for a minute.  I beat my eggs with the little bit of milk and Parmesan cheese until it was nice and fluffy.  Next, I put the spinach in the sausage gravy to "cook" while I began layering the casserole.  The bottom layer was the toasted bread.  Second, I poured the sausage/spinach gravy over the bread.  Finally, I finished up with the eggs.  I cooked it on low ,for a little over an hour, until the eggs were done.  Then, I sprinkled the cheese over it, and let it cook another 20 minutes until it was melted and bubbling around the edges.  

It was sooo good and creamy!  I love it, and I have enough to eat another couple of meals off of it.  Natalie was not so fond of it, but she doesn't like breakfast casserole, lol.  This is one recipe I will definitely make again and again and again!  I think next time I will try another variation and see how I like it.  Enjoy!  Happy Cooking!  :)

Crock Pot Hawaiian Chicken...Yummy yum yum!

I couldn't just start a cooking blog and leave you hanging, now, could I?  All of my facebook friends have already seen this recipe today.  I'm going to go ahead and share it anyway.  I love my crockpot!  I'm normally a lazy cook.  Anything that keeps me from standing for hours in the kitchen is a good thing in my book.  I actually saw this recipe on facebook!  It sounded delicious, so I had to try it.

I'm going to share two recipes with you.  The first one is the recipe straight from fb.  The second is my version, made using what I had on hand.  My motto is "use what you've got!"  I very seldom make a special trip to the grocery store just to buy one or two ingredients.  This recipe was so tasty, Natalie cleaned her plate both for lunch and supper.  My version of the recipe was enough for two meals for the two of us.  If you have a large family, you will definitely have to adjust accordingly.  Ok.  You ready?  Let's go!

Crock Pot Hawaiian Chicken:  Facebook recipe
2 lbs boneless chicken, cut into chunks
1 can crushed pineapple in juice
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
-Pour all ingredients into crockpot and cook until done.

Crock Pot Hawaiian Yard Bird from Melissa's Kitchen
4 boneless chicken tenders, still frozen
1 can of sliced pears in juice
about 1/3 cup of brown sugar (or all that was left in the container)
5 condiment packets of soy sauce (left over from take out Chinese food.)
-Place frozen chicken in the crock pot.
-Pour pears, brown sugar, and soy sauce into blender.  Pulse until the consistency of apple sauce.  Pour over chicken.
-Cook on high for about 3 hours.  It should be bubbly, brown, and falling apart!
This was truly amazing!  It was so tender, so juicy, and so good.  Not too sweet, not too salty.  It was just right!  I would also like to try it with canned peaches or mandarin oranges.  Fresh mangoes would be amazing!!!  Again...using what's on hand.  Mix it up, make it your own.  Most of all, enjoy it!  Happy cooking!

Welcome to Melissa's Kitchen!

Hello there!  Welcome to my new blog.  Let me introduce myself!

My name is Melissa and I'm an at home cook.  My recipes aren't fine dining.  I will never appear on a cooking show.  I'm a single mother, living on a fixed income.  I have to stretch my grocery money just like everyone else!  I'm notorious for using the last little bit of anything I have "on hand" to try and creatively concoct something new for supper.  My kids are most definitely my biggest critics.  That being said, they mostly love my cooking,

I've been sharing my "on hand" recipes on facebook for several years.  A friend of mine suggested I write a cook book.  Another friend mentioned making a cooking blog.  Yet another friend tagged me as the Southern, Sassy, Whatever-You've-Got-On-Hand-Will-Do Chef, lol.  I love it!!! Pondering all this, I decided it would take too long to publish a book.  I'm sharing recipes already.  I may as well start a blog.

Before we get started, let me give you a few of my tips.  First of all, the freezer is your friend.  I buy family packs of ground beef to separate out into freezer bags for future use.  I also buy frozen fish, chicken, and some veggies.  Most of the time I'm only cooking for me and my 6 year old.  I like frozen foods, because I can take out just as much as I want to cook, without ruining what's left.  I keep a container in the freezer to put any little last spoonful of green beans, chicken, corn, or whatever else is left in the serving bowl after supper that might be usable for a casserole.  When I get my bowl full, I thaw it out and voila!  Throw in a can of cream of something, put it in your casserole dish, and cover it with cheese.  Bake till bubbly and brown, and you've got yourself supper!  I'm sure you have your go to ingredients that you always have on hand.  Those are the things you want to use.  Here are a few of mine.

Grated cheese
eggs
crackers
mayonnaise
cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soup
canned chicken
beans
rice
corn
frozen spinach
peas
frozen chicken
quick cook oats
margarine
milk

Most all of my recipes originally came from somewhere else.  The difference is...I made it my own.  I substituted with what I had on hand.  If I share a recipe I have not yet cooked, I will tell you. Otherwise, you know it has been tested and tried.  I will also tell you if it's kid approved.  My little Princess is not always thrilled with my culinary expertise.  The joys of Motherhood.  ;)

Anyway, thank you for stopping by!  I hope you enjoy trying my little recipes.  Make sure you cook with a nice portion of love and prayers.  Makes it taste so much better!!!  Feel free to leave comments and let me know how you like them.  Also, feel free to share the cooking love.  Alrighty then!  Let's get cooking!