Tastefully Simple Tonight- Mama Mia Chicken Fingers

Hello again!  After a night off and a date night with the hubby I am glad to be back and blogging about dinner again!  Tonight's dinner was Mama Mia Chicken Fingers.  Here is the picture of the ingredients for tonight's meal. and I apologize for the slit in the Chicken package, my adorable assistant chef, Nick, began before I had taken the picture.

This meal was very easy to make.  You add some of the Mama Mia Marinara Sauce Mix to the eggs.  Then you dredge the chicken fingers in the egg and the bread crumb/parmesan cheese mixture and then bake for 20 minutes.  While they are baking, you mix some more of the Mama Mia Marinara Sauce Mix into the tomato sauce and simmer on the stove for about 10 minutes.  then serve these little fingers right up!

We made about 30 chicken fingers, which would be a good serving average of 5 fingers each for a family of 6.  All of us thought of the chicken fingers could have been a little more flavorful- try substituting the plain breadcrumbs with flavored ones or maybe even adding some Garlic Garlic, Seasoned Salt, or even Bacon Bacon to the breadcrumb mixture.  Also, I am not sure what I could have done differently without drying the chicken out, but the chicken fingers were pretty light.  Any ideas can be left in the comments section below!

The marinara sauce that we made was really fabulous and flavorful!  tasted better than the kind you buy in a jar and just as easy to make!  

So as you are now drooling over my awesome descriptions let me give you a picture to help you want them even more!

Tomorrow's meal is Simple Turkey dinner!  We are having a fabulous miniature Thanksgiving dinner in January!

Let me know when you want to purchase your Tastefully Simple Tonight Collection!  My website is full of all kinds of recipes and food ideas in addition to wonderful products to make your life easier and your cooking fast, easy and delicious!

Please as you read my blogs, and wonder how did this girl get a blog? Remember that each purchase you make on my website supports Nick's and my dream to begin our family.  We thank you for your love and support!

Tastefully Simple Tonight- Beef and Onion Vegetable Soup

This is my favorite so far!  I have two yummy recipes to talk about one from the collection- Beef and Onion Vegetable Soup, and one tat began as a recipe and then turned into my own twist on Beer Bread!  So yummy!

OK here are the ingredients for the bread.

So basically, you mix 2Tbls (or a Cap full-isn't it so cool that Tastefully Simple makes it that easy!) of Garlic Garlic, 4 oz ea Shredded Cheddar and Shredded Parmesan cheeses in with the package of Bountiful Beer Bread.  Then pour in the 12 oz of beer and fold in as you normally would for Bountiful Beer Bread.  Grease the bread pan and spread the dough inside.  Melt 3-4 Tbls butter and pour over the top.  Bake in a 375 oven until the bread is cooked throughout.  I ended up baking the bread for 1.5 hours. Longer than a normal loaf.  So good! You are Welcome!  hahaha

So now on to the real test, because it is impossible to not LOVE Bountiful Beer Bread in any variety!

Here are the ingredients for the soup.

*** Note, I am not product placing here.  The only product I am intentionally endorsing are the Tastefully Simple products in the center!  You can use what ever brand of instant rice, tomato paste, frozen- mixed veggies and water that you want!***

OK this soup was so simple! AND you only use ONE POT!!!!!!!!  My dishwasher will be so lonesome!

The prep time for this meal is right at an hour.  Most of that time is spent waiting for the soup flavors to blend and become spectacular!  In my case, I spent it putting together the Bountiful Beer Bread and watching "Felicity" on Netflix!  If you had kids, you could spend this time playing with them or reading to them or bathing them- whatever you want to do, because this meal basically makes itself!

This meal was an overall hit with my entire family here!  Mom liked it because it didn't have any 'heat' and Nick liked it because he loves a good beefy soup!  I loved it because it was simple, delicious and full of deep flavors!

Isn't that amazing looking!  The only thing I would have changed is maybe I would have used bigger vegetables, of a can of corn, a can of green beans, some cut carrots, and frozen peas.  I like bigger veggies, but that is an easy and doable fix!

So that's it!  Tonight's meal was great!  But I am sooo looking forward to the next meal- Mama Mia Chicken Fingers!  Since there is a Baylor Lady Bears are playing tomorrow and I have a Success Event on Thursday,  my next blog may  not be until Friday, but when It comes I will be making Mama Mia Chicken Fingers and i CAN'T wait!

If you are biting at the bit to get started on your Tastefully Simple Tonight meal plan, head over to my website and make your purchase today.  

Tastefully Simple Tonight -Tikka Chicken

Well folks do I have a meal for you!  Tonight's dinner has a Thai flare with a touch of heat!  Here is a preview of my plate.  You will see Nick's plate at the bottom.  Please do not mistake the portions as a reflection on taste, but rather taste buds... Thai food is not a favorite of mine.... Nick on the other hand is a HUGE fan! Please note I seasoned the broccoli with a little butter and some Seasoned Salt.

Now on to my disclaimer for this meal... the majority of the work is in the waiting.  I forgot to read the recipe when planning my meals and failed to notice that this meal needed to cook on low in the crock-pot for 3-4 hours before serving.  Needless to say dinner was served well past a child's bed time tonight.  Here is a picture of the ingredients called for in the recipe.

Again I am not endorsing any product names other than the Tastefully Simple products. : )  All brands are acceptable.

This recipe was truly simple to make.  You literally mix together everything except the peas and the rice and put it in the crock-pot for three hours.  Well you do actually have to dice the chicken, but that is the most work you have to do. Here is a picture of the mixture before I poured it into the crock-pot.

 It smelled delicious after not much time cooking and continued to get even more aromatic and tasty smelling throughout the entire cooking process!  I was looking forward to dinner all evening long and not just because we were eating so late!

The recipe will definitely feed at least 6 people.  Although unless you have allowed your children to eat spicy food I would advise making them some chicken nuggets tossed with Seasoned Salt or Fiesta Party Dip Mix for the kiddos.  Also if you have someone who has a sensitive stomach I would use less of the curry and Fiesta Party Dip mix.

Here is the final product.  As you can see Nick really loved this dish!

Come back by tomorrow night when I am going to make Beef and Onion Vegetable Soup and Parmesan/Cheddar Beer bread!  Don't worry, I've already looked and Dinner can be ready by 6:30pm!  Happy Eating! And btw- in case you are wondering how you can get your own Tastefully Simple Tonight Collection to enjoy these wonderful pre-planned, easily freezable meals (that includes freezer labels) follow the link above to go directly to the collection or go to my website to see all the wonderful products available to you!

FYI

The Tastefully Simple Tonight blog on Tikka chicken will be up late tonight as I did not fully read the recipe card and it has to cook in the croc pot on low for 3-4 hours... come back soon to see how it turns out!

Tastefully Simple Tonight- Taco Terrific

Greetings!  I know it has been some time since I've posted on this blog, but get ready.  Tonight's post is the first in an 11 post series!

I had recently purchased the Fall Winter 2012 Tastefully Simple Tonight Collection and decided on a whim, to blog about it.  The first 10 posts will each feature one of the recipes and the final post will be a financial blog to let you know about how much this will cost you up front and also how much product is left over from the collection for use in your kitchen.

As always, if you or anyone you know is interested in purchasing Tastefully Simple Products or hosting a tasting party in your home, please email me and/or go to my website www.tastefullysimple.com/web/hcook to browse through the current products and make a purchase.  Every purchase goes to helping Nick and I make our dreams of starting a family come true!

SOOOOO now on to the Tacos.  You can serve your typical taco additions and sides with these tacos, as the recipe included in the collection is only to prepare the meat portion of the taco.  Let me repeat that, the recipe is only to prepare the meat portion!

Below you will find a photo of the ingredients I used. *** Please note, you may use any brand of tomato sauce, ground meat, and Cumin that you desire.  I am only here to endorse the Tastefully Simple products and nothing else. ***

This meal took just 20 minutes from the time I took this picture until the time dinner was ready to serve!  Basically all I had to do was brown the meat, measure the three spices and water and then let the flavors simmer together before I was able to put together these wonderful tacos.

Now down to the nitty gritty!  I know you expect me to say only glowing things about these tacos, and I will, but honestly how can you go wrong with tacos?  The meat mixture was a good mild spice level, so I would feel fine serving it to a person with a sensitive stomach.  You can always add some cayenne or red pepper flakes to make it more spicy if you, like Nick, crave the heat!  I will probably add a little more heat the next time I make these tacos, but definitely didn't need to do so.

Both mom and Nick enjoyed these tacos with me.  The recipe card says it will feed 6, with the big stand up shells we purchased, it made 10 tacos, which fed the three of us very nicely.  The good news is that by just doubling the recipe you could easily feed 6, and there is plenty of product left in the collection to do so!

I am so excited to be sharing theses recipes with you and I hope you are looking forward to tomorrow's meal- Tikka Chicken.  Until then- you can just keep thinking about how delicious these tacos look and how much you want to begin your own Tastefully Simple Tonight Collection menu!

Using Tastefully Simple Products in Your Everyday Kitchen

There are many products in the Spring Summer catalog that lend themselves to using daily as you cook.  The seasonings are an easy daily use product, but consider using one of the savory cheeseballs as a spread on tortilla wraps as a healthy afternoon snack.  Or whipping up a batch of Giddy Up Guacamole as a sandwich or burger spread.

Bake a loaf of Bountiful Beer Bread and mix some cinnamon or honey into some softened butter or margarine to add to baked chicken seasoned with Fiesta Party Dip Mix and green beans seasoned with Spinach and Herb Dip Mix.

I love finding new ways to use these delicious and quality products in my everyday kitchen.  Let me know when you would like to schedule your tasting party!  I can't wait to help you earn free products that you can use in your Everyday Kitchen!

Book Your party now!

Book your party now for February 11th or February 25th and you will receive a free Bountiful Beer Bread or Savory Wheat Beer Bread along with the normal Hostess rewards.

This may be your last chance to get some of your favorite items from the Fall Catalog!