Santa Fe Grilled Chicken

This chicken is delicious to use for fajitas or just eat on its own. The marinade was also good on steak, which we used for fajitas.

4 boneless chicken breasts, ~2 lbs
1 cup water
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp white vinegar
1.5 tsp chipotle chili powder
1 tsp liquid smoke
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp black pepper

Combine the chicken with all the marinade ingredients into a gallon ziploc bag. Marinate for at least two hours (this also freezes well). Remove the chicken and grill on an indoor or outdoor grill until no longer pink in the center. If using for fajitas, let rest then slice thinly.

Farmer's Pork Chops

Just simple home cooking but delicious! My 22-month old dug in! I used a large 10x15 casserole dish -- if using an 9x13, I'd halve the recipe and only use 5-6 pork chops. I also added some cajun/creole seasoning to my white sauce for a little spice.

6 medium potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 small onion, thinly sliced in half rings
salt and pepper
1 cup flour
9 center cut pork chops, 1/2" thick
2 tbsp vegetable oil

White Sauce;
1 stick butter
1/2 cup flour
2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp black pepper
4 cups milk

Preheat oven to 350. In large casserole dish, layer half the potatoes and half the onion. Season with salt and pepper. Repeat with other half of potatoes and onions and season.

Prepare the white sauce by melting the butter in a large saucepan. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper. Let cook for about a minute. Add the milk slowly, while whisking to blend the flour mixture. Bring to a boil and stir frequently until thickened. Pour sauce over the potatoes and bake for 15 minutes.

While potatoes are cooking, season pork chops with salt and pepper. Dredge in a little flour and lightly brown each side in vegetable oil. Place them over the potatoes, arranging so they all fit. Bake for 35-40 minutes.

Spinach & Provolone Chicken Pinwheels

These were so easy to make and SO good! A little cheese oozes out and browns up, yum. The garlic butter sauce is delicious over top -- I made rice to go along with it, and topped it with the sauce as well. This would be easy to freeze too, either by placing in a foil pan or flash freezing the pinwheels and putting in a ziploc after.

6 thin cut chicken breasts (I used 3 large breasts, slicing them thinly into thirds while on their side)
salt and pepper
6 slices provolone cheese, cut in half
1-1/2 cups fresh baby spinach
1/2 stick butter
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley

Lay the chicken flat and season with salt and pepper. Place two half-slices of provolone onto each chicken. Top with about 1/4 cup spinach. Roll up chicken and secure with toothpick.

Bake in 350 oven for 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

Make garlic butter sauce by melting butter over low heat in a saucepan. Add the garlic and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add parsley and remove from heat. Top cooked chicken with the sauce before serving.

Un-Stuffed Cabbage

I love stuffed cabbage but it can be time consuming to prepare. This was super easy and everything cooks in one pot!

2 lbs ground beef
salt and pepper
1 onion, chopped
1 cup rice, uncooked
1/2 head cabbage, roughly chopped
8-oz can tomato sauce
2 cups water
14-oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup shredded cheese (I used colby jack)

Season and brown ground beef and onions. Drain off grease. Add rice, cabbage, tomato sauce, water, and diced tomatoes. Stir. Let it it come to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for 20-30 minutes. Once cooked, top with cheese and cover with lid to melt.