Joni’s Chicken Salad

I made Joni's chicken salad again this weekend -- and again got rave reviews. Truly, I don't make much, but this is one that I make and always seem to have people approving. You can serve it with lettuce "wraps" for those not eating bread. Or, you can serve it with croissants (my personal favorite.)

Here is the recipe:

• 2 pkg Uncle Ben's Wild Rice (original) cook as directed using one cup less water per pkg.
• 4 whole chicken breasts cooked and cubed [you can used canned chicken but of course it won't taste quite as good]
• 1 cup mayo

Mix the above three ingredients and marinate overnight

• 1 6 oz. jar marinated artichoke hearts with liquid
• 1 1/2 C chopped celery
• 1 C. chopped green pepper
• 1 pkg. Good Seasons Italian dressing--mix according to directions

Mix the above 4 ingredients and marinate overnight

Directions: Just before serving mix above with 2-3 cans chunk pineapple (drained) and 1 can cashews. 

Apple-Rosemary Blue Cheese Bites

Can you believe that I, yes, me ... yes, Wendi ... made these little beauties for our Bible Study potluck on Tuesday. Amazing, huh? For the complete recipe, click here. But be warned, you won't be as impressed with me when you see how easy they are.

P.S. I sprinkled rosemary. And if someone doesn't like blue cheese, you won't like these, but I'd imagine you could substitute with relatively no major trauma.

Tuna Cakes

Ingredients:

• 2 cans (6 oz. each) light tuna in water, drained, flaked
• 1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken
• 1 cup KRAFT Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 carrot, shredded
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 2 Tbsp. Sweet Pickle Relish

Directions:

Mix all ingredients. Refrigerate 10 min.
Heat large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium heat. Use ice cream scoop to add 1/3-cup portions of tuna mixture, in batches, to skillet.
Flatten into patties with back of spatula. Cook 6 min. or until golden brown on both sides, carefully turning patties over after 3 min.

Verdict: Veronica, JB, and me really enjoyed these. Elijah did as well. Isaac didn't try them so I am not sure he can be counted amongst the judges. I did lemon juice instead of relish. Very yummy! I will definitely do these again. They are a little hard to flip on the pan but quite easy, decently healthy, and very tasty.

Joni's Chicken Salad (Round II)

I made this for a little birthday brunch for Angelica yesterday: Joni's chicken salad. I also gave some to our new Chaplain who has now "moved in" from Germany (his family is still in Germany finishing the school year) as it was my turn to bring him dinner. Great little recipe for a great little brunch. When I went to buy croissants from the bakery here on Base, the Turkish guy working the counter told me he had some in the freezer (since there weren't enough in the case). I asked for eight. When I got home, I set the bag of eight croissants down on the counter not realizing till JB pointed it out that they were just the dough! Oh! Not what I had planned but very fresh (after I cooked them!)

P.S. Here is: A video of the boys playing (with some funny moment sprinkled in).

Revisiting the Old

I was over a year ago that I started a little contest on my blog that I never finished. A contest to find good, family-friendly recipes (that were also egg free.) I never ended up finishing the contest as our move to Turkey took precedent. But I decided to revisit some of the recipes this week and also look up some new ones in the hopes of making some meals that our whole family enjoys.

You can check out some of the recipes that were submitted and the ones I tried by clicking here.

Tonight I made Bunkhouse Beans again, and once again, my boys really liked them. I never did pick a winner for my contest, but if I had, I think this one would have been it!

Elijah scarfed them and Isaac actually ate a few bites which in our house, is called success. Yum! Try this recipe if you have young kids folks. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Hawaiian Chicken

Ingredients:

• 2-3 lbs of chicken
• Butter
• 9oz can of pineapple chunks
• 1/4 cup brown sugar*
• 1 tsp salt*
• 1/3 cup of catsup*
• 2 TBLS cornstarch*
• 1/4 cup vinegar*
• 1 tsp soy sauce*

Directions: Cook 2-3 lbs of chicken in boiling water. Cool and remove skin and bones and put pieces in a casserole dish. Pour 1/4 of melted butter over chicken. Drain the juice from a 9oz can of pineapple chunks (I usually use the large 12 or 16oz size) and mix with starred items. Cook until thick, stirring constantly. Add pineapple chunks and pour over chicken. Bake covered at 350 for 1 hour stirring occasionally. Serve over rice.

Overall rating:

• Simplicity: 3.5
• Taste: 3.5
• Nutrition: 2.5

Total rating: 3

Wendi's report: This was a recipe I grew up with. Thus I imagining that it was my mother who left this? I love Hawaiian chicken. I actually just cut the chicken up and cooked it in the dish with the rest of the meal which was easier and seemed fine. I also used shredded pineapple to make it easier for the boys. I love this recipe. John isn't as crazy about it. He doesn't like the "gummy" taste of corn starch. Elijah loved it. Isaac gave some pretty crazy faces. Overall, I would recommend everyone trying this one. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Chicken Stroganoff

Ingredients:

• 2-3# boneless/skinless chicken (cut into bite size)
• 1 can cream of chicken soup (Healthy Recipe works great)
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup (Healthy Recipe works great)
• 2 t garlic pwdr or 2 garlic cloves (chop garlic)
• 1/2 white/yellow onion - diced
• 1 Cup Sherry (cheap works well)
• Pepper to taste
• 2-3 shakes of Worchshire

Directions: Line slow cooker with liner, fill with above ingredients, stir well. Cover & cook on Hi for 4 hrs or Low for 6-8 hrs. Great served over pasta, rice, mashed potatoes, or dressing.

Overall rating:

• Simplicity: 3.5


• Taste: 4


• Nutrition: 4

Total rating: 4

Wendi's report: Jodi joined us for dinner tonight after watching the boys so I could go swim. (Have I mentioned that I think swimming is hard?) Anyways, this was a fabulous dinner. Scrumptious. We ate it over mashed potatoes (thanks to Jodi!) Elijah didn't dive in, but I think it was just because he wasn't feeling himself. He seemed to like it. Isaac wouldn't try it so we don't think that makes him a fair judge. Either way, this was a healthy, easy, and very tasty recipe. Loved it! Give it a try.

To see all the food contest results, click here.

Butternut Squash Casserole (aka Healthy Mac n'cheese)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 butternut squash peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes (2 cups) (I cheat and buy the frozen squash that's already in cubes!)
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2lb whole-wheat elbows
• 2 Tbs butter (I use Smart Balance)
• 2 Tbs flour
• 1 1/2 cups reduced-fat milk
• 1 3/4 cups low-fat cheddar cheese, shredded and divided

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degreed. Toss squash with salt and oil on a foil-lined tray and bake for 20min or until tender

Preheat oven to 375 degreed. Toss squash with salt and oil on a foil-lined tray and bake for 20min or until tender.

Cook pasta for 2 minutes less than package directions call for; drain and place in a bowl with squash.

Meanwhile, melt butter over low heat, whisk in flour and cook for 2 min. Slowly whisk in milk. Bring mix to a boil, then simmer. Cook 3 min, stirring occasionally. Add 1 1/2 cups cheese; stir until melted.

Stir cheese sauce into pasta and squash.

Put into greased baking pan, sprinkle on remaining cheese and bake until bubbly and golden on top (about 10min).

Overall rating:

• Simplicity: 3.5
• Taste: 4
• Nutrition: 4

Total rating: 4

Wendi's report (via brother Keith): Okay folks. We have a good one here. While I did not buy the precut butternut squash, making it a bit more difficult, and this was not as simple as some of the other recipes I have tried, nutrition-wise it was pretty stinkin' good and taste-wise it was pretty stinkin' good as well. I am not even a squash fan, and I really enjoyed it. Isaac didn't try it but Elijah gobbled it up and had seconds. John also really liked it. Definitely one to try!

To see all the food contest results, click here.

Hot beef sandwiches

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion sauteed in butter
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1 or 2 cans of tomatoes
• 1 can of water (use tomato can)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup vinegar (Cider vinegar)
• 1 green pepper (optional)
• 3 to 4 lbs chuck blade roast
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Works great either way that you prepare it: either throw everything in the pan or crock pot together.

Simmer all together for 4 to 5 hours. C

an be: (1) put on toasted bread for open face

buns for a BBQ like sandwich (2) served

over noodles of your choice (3) served

with fries or sweet potato sticks (4) served with

any vegetable as a side dish (5) eaten with the meat broken up for

sandwiches.

Overall rating:

• Simplicity: 4
• Taste: 2.5
• Nutrition: 2.5

Total rating: 3

Wendi's report: This was a simple meal to prepare. Other than sauteeing the onions, there really wasn't much to it except for throwing everything into the crockpot. However, once the meatwas out, we found it to be a tad dry and bland. So, JB took all the ingredients in the sauce, blended them in our food processor, and then added a few spices of his own to make a really great sauce to go over the meat. We ate them on buns, and with the sauce they were very tasty. We also had some sweet potato fries and baked beans. The kids weren't really interested in the meat but did eat the fries and beans and bits of the meat I disguised by throwing into the beans. I think the concept of this recipe was good, but it wasn't exactly good for little kids.

To see all the food contest results, click here.

Slow-Cooked Southwest Chicken (from Taste of Home)

Ingredients:

• 2 cans (15 ounces each) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes with mild green chilies, undrained 1/2 pound boneless skinless chicken breast
• 1 jar (8 ounces) chunky salsa
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 3 cups hot cooked rice

Directions: In a 2- or 3-qt. slow cooker, combine the beans, broth, tomatoes, chicken, salsa, corn and seasonings. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until chicken shreds easily with two forks. Shred chicken and return to the slow cooker; heat through. Serve with rice. Yield: 6 servings. I like to add cheese at the end. you can also dial up or down the spice level, depending on the kind of salsa you use, and whether you used diced tomatoes with or without green chilies. Enjoy!

Overall rating:

• Simplicity: 4
• Taste: 3
• Nutrition: 4.5

Total rating: 4

Wendi's report (via brother Keith): Complete honesty here. I gave this meal to my brother Keith to make. He did a fantastic job. Overall, we enjoyed the meal but a few changes Keith made may have brought the taste down a bit. We were a little short on salsa and a little heavy on chicken. We also didn't add cheese at the end as recommended. Keith suggests that next time we eat it or try it, we add the cheese and the correct amount of salsa. I think this is recipe for people to try but we weren't blown away by it. A tad bland. The kids however (except, no surprise here, Isaac) really liked it. Charleigh and Elijah chowed down and even got seconds and thirds.

To see all the food contest results, click here.

Spaghetti pie

Ingredients:

• spaghetti or pasta your choice
• 1 small container of ricotta or cottage cheese
• 1 egg (substitute)
• 1 lb of hamburger or ground turkey
• 1 jar of pasta sauce top it off with mozzarella cheese or a low fat cheese if you prefer

Directions: Cook the spaghetti, drain it and place it in a bowl and add either ricotta or cottage cheese to it. I'm leaving out the egg, or you can use an egg substitute for a little additional binding agent for the mix. Once it is all mixed place the spaghetti in a deep pie dish making walls and leaving a nice area in the middle for the sauce and meat of your choice. Brown the meat, drain and add a jar of pasta sauce. Place meat and sauce mixture into the middle of your spaghetti pie as you would any pie filling. Top with cheese. You can add mushrooms or any other spices to your taste. Preheat the oven to 350. Bake until the cheese is nice and melted. Slice the pie up to serve like you would any other pie. Interesting and fun to see a wedge of pasta serve with your choice of veggie and salad.

Overall rating:

• Simplicity: 4
• Taste: 3
• Nutrition: 3

Total rating: 3.5

Wendi's report: This is a recipe that I shared with my hubby and brother and his wife. I actually did not have a deep pie dish so I used a deep casserole dish. As a result the pizza pie ended up a tad on the dry side. (I also think I used too many noodles and not enough sauce.) If I would have used the right pan, I think it would have gone up on the taste scale. This was really easy and while the kids didn't eat it with us (I didn't have it cooked in time for them), Elijah sat on my lap during my meal and went to town on it. He seemed to really enjoy it. We also plan to give them leftovers tomorrow evening. I really enjoyed this recipe and think I would like to try it again with a better pan and maybe more sauce so it wasn't too dry. We did use an egg so Isaac didn't participate in this meal.

To see all the food contest results, click here.

Grandma Farlow's Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• Lettuce
• 1 can roma tomatoes
• 1 can Mexican corn
• Catalina dressing (to liking)
• 1 can Ranch style beans
• Yellow onion (to liking)
• Shredded cheddar cheese (to liking)
• Corn chips (if desired)

Directions: Brown ground beef. Cut up lettuce, roma tomatoes and yellow onion. Mix together cooked meat, lettuce, tomato, onion, Mexican corn and Ranch style beans (all will be cold, but meat). Pour Catalina dressing over this and add shredded cheese. Serve by itself or with corn chips.

Overall rating:

• Simplicity: 3
• Taste: 3
• Nutrition: 4

Total rating: 3.5

Wendi's report: So I must be honest. I did not do Grandma Farlow justice. Sorry Grandma Farlow. JB wasn't home and I made a few mistakes when cooking this. Firstly, I didn't have ranch style beans. So I used black beans. That seemed to be fine. Secondly, I didn't serve part of it cold and part of it warm. I put it all together and put it in the oven. I also pureed the onion and tomato, on purpose hoping the boys would eat it that way. I just screwed it all up. I had had a long day. That being said, it was still very tasty. Despite all my adjustments, both those I did on purpose and those I didn't mean to do. It would have gotten a 4 in taste had it been a bit more kid-friendly. It was a little hard for the boys to eat although I did put it on their trays (as shown in the pictures above) and added a few hotdogs to trick them into eating more of it (especially Isaac) ... and they did. We served this over lettuce and then had seconds served over tostito chips. And we really did enjoy it despite my screw-ups. So, overall, I totally recommend people to try this. I can see why it is so popular. Again, sorry Grandma Farlow (and her family) for not being a better cook on this one.

To see all the food contest results, click here.

Cheese Potato Soup

Ingredients:

• 8 cups chopped baking potatoes
• 2 cans cream of chicken soup
• 1 medium brick of Velveeta
• 16 ounces sour cream
• bacon bits
• shredded cheddar cheese

Directions: Peel potatoes then chop them up into bite size pieces. Put in pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are tender. DO NOT DRAIN WATER! Add both cans of soup and Velveeta (I cut up the Velveeta into chunks so that it will melt faster). Stir frequently until Velveeta is melted. Add sour cream and stir until blended. Serve up your soup and enjoy. As you are putting the soup into the bowls you can put the bacon bits and shredded cheese on top.

Overall rating:

• Simplicity: 4
• Taste: 4
• Nutrition: 3

Total rating: 3.75 stars

Wendi's report: This was magnificently delicious. I mean, so, so, so good. It only got 4 stars for taste because our boys had no interest in it. It's really too mature for their age. But holy cow. Loved this. We used real bacon instead of bacon bits with took away from the simplicity slightly. And I must be honest, JB cooked this one instead of me. I know this is breaking the rules, but he got a new pot and wanted to try it out, and I was busy with the boys, and it just worked out that way. But he told me that even I would find it remarkably easy. Try this folks! Scrumptious!

Cheeseburger Bacon Casserole

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• Macaroni noodles (or whatever shape noodle you would like)
• Bacon
• Cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup milk
• Brown ground beef in skillet.

Directions: Drain. Cook noodles in pot of water. Once noodles are done, mix together the ground beef and noodles in a 9x13 pan. Add milk to noodle/beef mixture and stir. Sprinkle bacon bits over mixture (however much you would like) and cover with cheese (again, however much you like). Bake at 350 for 20 minutes (or until cheese is melted).

Overall rating (graded on a 5 star scale):

• Simplicity: 3
• Taste: 3
• Nutrition: 3

Total rating: 3 stars

Wendi's report: Joni actually made most of these as the kids were just kind of needy when I decided to start it. I know the rules are that I am supposed to make it, but it just fell through. Anyways, overall this was a very simple recipe. We used real bacon which made it a tad more complicated. If I did it in the future, I would mix the cheese into it. That would make it more "moist." I ended up putting extra cheese on mine and putting it in the microwave to melt it. Overall a decent dish but I think I would "spice it up" in the future -- add some peas or something. As for the kids, they did not try this. Elijah just didn't seem to be in the mood to eat. We are wondering if he just isn't feeling so hot or what. Isaac ate a HUGE lunch and therefore wasn't very interested in dinner. I do think the kids would like this if they tried it. I think it is a good meal for kiddos.

Beef Burgandy

Ingredients:

• 1-2 pounds beef stew meat
• 1 can of cream of mushroom soup
• Burgundy (I used one soup can full)
• 1 package of Lipton Onion Soup Mix.
• Linguine (or other noodles)

Directions: Put 1-2 lbs. of beef stew meat in the crock pot with 1 can of cream of mushroom soup, fill the empty cream of mushroom soup can with burgundy and pour that in the crock pot. Also include 1 package of Lipton Onion Soup Mix. Let it all cook for the day in your crock pot and when you are ready to eat just boil a bag of wide noodles and toss together. It is so easy and so yummy.

Overall rating (graded on 5 star scale):
Simplicity: 4
Taste: 3
Nutrition: 3

Total rating: 3.25

Wendi's report: So this was VERY easy and VERY delicious. The only reason it scored low in taste was because neither of the boys wanted anything to do with it. I think it would be kid-friendly, just not really-little-kid-friendly. However, JB and I loved it and are excited about the leftovers it yielded (due to no kid involvement) for tomorrow. If you have older children, I think they would dig this. Easy, tasty, and not too bad for you either. How can you go wrong?

Bunkhouse Beans (formerly nameless hotdog recipe)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup salsa
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 2/3 cup barbecue sauce
• 5 hot dogs, halved lengthwise and sliced [we cut these up very small instead for the boys]
• 3 tablespoons dried minced onion
• 2 cans (16 ounces each) pork and beans, drained [I did not drain them since I was a little low on bbq sauce. I also used baked beans.]
• 1 can (16 ounces) chili beans, undrained
• 1 can (16 ounces) butter beans or lima beans, rinsed and drained

Directions: In a bowl, combine the first five ingredients. Stir in the beans; pour into an ungreased 9x13 baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 375° for 35-40 minutes or until bubbly. Yield: 6-8 servings.

Overall rating (graded on 5 star scale):

• Simplicity: 5
• Taste: 4.5
• Nutrition: 3

Total rating: 4.25 stars

Wendi's report: Well this wasn't one of the recipes I was going to do first, but I can't figure out how to do the tuna cakes with the egg issues, and the other one was a crock pot recipe that I need to start in the morning. So I started looking through recipes and realized I had all the ingredients for this one. So I, literally, threw it together. Firstly, it was incredibly easy. No exact measurements needed. It's beenie weenies. You can't mess that up. While it wasn't the most healthy of recipes (sugar and bbq sauce), it was a HIT! Not only did JB and I really enjoy it, but the boys DEVOURED it! Both of them! Honestly, I am not sure this has EVER happened. Elijah eats everything, but Isaac doesn't give something time if it doesn't attract him instantly. He loves hot dogs though so this was perfect for him.

I told JB that there has to be a mix between just making perfectly healthy recipes, and making something that isn't the most healthy but still exposes them to different flavors. I will DEFINITELY make this again. So easy! And so loved! The only problem? It made a huge mess. But since the boys were due for baths anyways, it was no problem.

Here are some pictures. Right now, this recipe is in the lead to win the contest. It's still early, but good job whoever submitted this one.

All righty. Let's see what we got here tonight. Not so sure about this. (Note "Bubby" in the background who could not participate in this meal due to the abundance of mess.)

Oh my goodness! This has to be the best thing you have ever made Mom!

For some reason, both boys seemed it necessary to put the beans in their hair.

Copying big brother.

Elijah has recently discovered his tongue. If you ask him where his tongue is, he instantly sticks it out. It's way cute. Even when he's a total mess from his dinner.

Really excited about the good dinner! Even Elijah, who is always impressed by food, seemed extra impressed tonight.

Lovin' his bunkhouse beans!

"Ummmm . . . mas (more) hot dogs pease"

Meatloaf Muffins with Barbecue Sauce

(Rachel Ray 30 min. meals for Kids)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb lean ground beef1 small onion
• 1 small green pepper (I use a food processor and almost puree the onion and green pepper - no chunks for kids to see and say they don't like it)
• a splash of milk1 cup plain bread crumbs
• 2 T grill seasoning (I use one that doesn't have a lot of pepper in it. otherwise it gets too spicy)
• 1 C. smokey BBQ sauce (I use Famous Daves Sweet and Zesty)
• 1/2 c. tomato salsa
• 1 T Worcestershire sauce

Directions: Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Grease a 12-muffin tin with oil or use aluminum foil muffin cups (makes cleaning much easier). Place gr. beef in med. Bowl. Add onion and gr. pepper to food processor and chop fine. Add to the meat. Next add milk, bread crumbs and grill seasoning. In a separate, small bowl mix salsa, bbq sauce, and Worcestershire sauce together. Pour half of the mixture into the bowl with the meat and mix well. Using a spoon or a large ice cream scoop, fill muffin tins with meat mixture. Top each meatloaf muffin with a spoonful of reserved sauce. Bake 15-20 min.

Overall rating (graded on a 5 star scale):

1. Simplicity: 3.5
2. Taste: 4
3. Nutrition: 3

Total rating: 3.5 stars

Wendi's report: Firstly, I love JB's food processor. Never used it before but pureeing that pepper and onion was quite fun! Yay for learning something new! And yay for making two meals in one week. Don't think I have ever done that before.

Secondly, I followed the directions perfectly, and overall it was an easy meal to make. Harder than the Tater Tot Casserole but not by much. However, after 20 minutes, the "muffins" were still more like a sloppy joe mixture. I went and checked on Rachel Ray's website and the recipe she lists calls for an egg. So I am not sure if the recipe-submitter on this one accidentally or purposefully left the egg out? I also cooked it about 30 minutes in total to see if it would get more muffin like. And it didn't.

Anyways, the low down was, the "sloppy joe mixture" was that it was quite tasty! We put it on bread and had, well, sort-of-sloppy-joes. Now the boys could not eat this. It was just too messy and it was a little spicy. (Maybe I used the wrong sort of grill seasoning?) Maybe the submitter of this could check back in and give us a rundown on whether I did something wrong with the egg, but the taste was FABULOUS! Very good. John said that you definitely need some sort of "thickening agent" to make them more of muffins and not sloppy joes.

I ended up giving the boys the broccoli and carrots I had made to go with them as well as some bread and blueberries and leftover fish patties from lunch. They seemed satisfied with that.

Meal #1: Tater Tot Casserole

Ingredients:

• ground beef or turkey (raw)
• 2 medium onions
• American cheese slices
• 1 can green beans (drained)
• 1 bag frozen tater tots

Directions: Put all together as layers, beginning w/ ground meat (bottom) and ending w/ tater tots (top) in casserole dish. Bake at 350 for 2 hours; uncover last 1/2 hour. (Can use any cheese you like and cut down onion or use minced onion. Sometimes use corn instead of beans or 1/2 of each. Totally different taste from turkey or beef).

Overall rating (graded on a 5 star scale):

1. Simplicity: 5
2. Taste: 3
3. Nutrition: 3

Total rating: 3.75 stars

Wendi's report: This was very easy to make. I made it all by myself with no input or help from JB. To demonstrate what a cooking novice I am, let me tell you that this was the first time, in my life, that I have ever cut up an onion. It was very painful. (JB cuts up onions on a daily basis, but I have refrained up until this point.) This is basically a shepherd's pie with a twist. John and Wendi thought it was good but weren't ecstatic about it, Elijah thought it was fabulous, and Isaac did not try it. While not necessarily a favorite, I think I will make this again based solely on how wonderfully easy this was! So simple even me, a cooking nincompoop, could do it.

Isaac pushed the food to the side and said, "aside" (I tell him if he doesn't want something to push it aside instead of hiding it in his seat or throwing it on the floor so now he does this all the time.) Then, as indicated in this picture, he said "All done" as soon as I set the meal on his plate. Since he didn't even TRY it, I don't think his opinion counts much.

Elijah chowed down ... as usual. (And yes, that is a second black eye growing on top of the current one.)

Round Two "I need Help with Dinner"

Okay. At long last. I (with the help from my wonderful husband) have narrowed down the 58 recipes I received upon entry into my "I need Help with Dinner" contest to 37. I gave the 17 pages of print-outs to JB. I thought he would just glance at them and give me a little feedback. But he took his job quite seriously and really helped me pick which ones would be good and not-so-good.

The following 37 recipes (listed in random order) have reached round two. Congratulations!

1. Nameless Hotdog recipe
2. Roast and beans in crockpot (multiple recipes given -- going to try one)
3. Cheese potato soup
4. Tuna cakes (this recipe included Mayo which has eggs in it but we are going to find an alternative since the recipe looked so good)
5. Tortellini & spinach
6. Slow-cooked Southwest Chicken
7. Crockpot pulled pork sandwiches
8. Mexican lasagna
9. Salsa chicken
10. Butternut squash casserole
11. Chicken stroganoff
12. Sweet ham and yams
13. Hot beef sandwiches (although we'd like to find an alternative to the sugar included in this recipe)
14. Grandma Farlow's salad
15. Honey mustard chicken
16. Roasted lemon chicken
17. Chicken enchiladas
18. Beef burgundy
19. Cheeseburger bacon casserole
20. Meatloaf muffins with bbq sauce
21. Tortizzas
22. Taco soup
23. Slow cooker chicken and stuffing
24. Easy chicken casserole
25. Catalina Chicken (although we are looking for an "all natural alternative to the bottle of dressing)
26. Cornflake chicken with garlic and rosemary potatoes
27. Goolash American chop suey
28. Slow cooker chicken and stuffing
29. Spaghetti pie
30. Poppy seed chicken
31. Chicken, Carrots, and potatoes (again, with dressing alternative possibility)
32. Classic herb chicken
33. Tater tot casserole
34. Easy chicken casserole
35. Kid's favorite chili
36. Baked spaghetti
37. Oriental-broccoli-chicken-stuff

Please don't be upset if we didn't choose your recipe! :) Recipes were mostly eliminated based on having an ingredient we try not to use (corn starch for instance) or just being too advanced for our boys (JB said he would love the fish tacos for himself but not for them.) Soups and chilis were often left out (although we tried a few) simply due to difficulty for the boys to eat them at their age. The recipes themselves still looked fabulous! There honestly wasn't a thing on here that didn't look good to me!

Also, I reserve the right to widdle this down farther if I change my mind about a recipe later. But for now, these are where I am going to get started.

I am not sure how I am going to pick which recipes I will cook first. I will probably base my ordering on variety (i.e. I won't pick 5 chicken recipes right off the bat) and ease of cooking them.

I then plan to give the recipe a rating of 0-5 stars with the help of the handsome and incredibly appreciative men who make up the rest of my household. (Scrubs included.)

I will then take all the 5 and possibly 4 star recipes and enter them into my final round. I wasn't planning on having a final round, but I think I am going to need it with all these entries. For the final round, I am considering enlisting some of you out there to help me judge. But it'll be, probably two months, until I get that far.

I will let you know when I try a recipe and how it goes. I may even include some photos depending on how ambitious I am and how peaceful the house currently is. This will take awhile. I doubt I'll cook a recipe every single night. But a few a week at least.

So . . . let the contest begin.

Recipe Contest Officially CLOSED!

All righty folks. The cooking contest is closed.

While I am typing this, my printer is printing. It's printing recipes. (Something it doesn't print often by the way.)

There were 58 recipes entered into my contest.

Next step: figure out which ones to actually try. I'm really glad I had you do them all anonymously. I already feel badly about not trying some. I can't imagine how much worse I would feel if I knew I wasn't picking, like, my Mom's or something.

THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING! I can't wait to see how good you all are at explaining to a moron (aka Wendi) how to cook.