Chicken, Potatoes, and Cheese? YES, PLEASE!!!

Last night brought about such a delicious and amazing meal! I had cleaned and de-cluttered all day--even though I seemed to make a bigger mess--and I was exhausted. My separating abdominals hurt and I was walking oddly due to my discomfort. My plan was to make chicken Marsala, but Ryan wasn't in the mood for it, so I invented something new. Now...you all likely know that meal inventions either flop BIG time, or are a HUGE success. Which do you think mine turned out to be? ;)

Hot Chicken Salsa and Monterey Potatoes

Ingredients
Three chicken breasts (I only used two, but wished that I had used three)
1 can of corn, drained (I had Mexican corn on hand, but regular corn should be fine!)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 jar salsa
^ Can you tell that I was using whatever I found in my cupboard and fridge? Heehee
Potatoes
Milk
Cheddar and Monterey cheeses
Spices such as cumin, salt, onion powder, cayenne pepper, and paprika.

Preheat your oven to 425*F and season your thawed chicken in an oven safe dish, baking it for about 40 minutes, turning once halfway through. When the 40 minutes is up, immediately put the breasts into your mixer and use the paddle to shred the meat up. Put the meat back into the same dish and add the black beans, corn, and salsa, stirring together. At this point, I have turned my oven off and just put the dish back in. The oven is still hot enough to make the other ingredients nice and hot!

While you are waiting for the chicken to bake, prep your potatoes and set them to boil. After the hot salsa is back into the oven is the perfect time to mash your potatoes and add milk, etc. I seasoned them with salt and cayenne pepper, then added the cheeses. I didn't use much cayenne as I do not like spicy foods, and I added PLENTY of cheese! They were delicious!! I did need to put the mashed potatoes into a microwave safe bowl and heat them a little more to melt the cheese well before serving. We put the potatoes on our plates and spooned the hot salsa mixture on top. DELISH!! Now I wish that we'd had sour cream (it's almost grocery day. Haha) because a dollop of sour cream on top with some more cheese would have made it perfect! This was eaten with lots of "yummy noises" from my family and declarations that I must make it again. There are leftovers and I think I will get sour cream at the grocery store and make baked potatoes served with the salsa in too for a lunch! YUM-O!! <--- I think Rachel Ray would be proud of my meal, what do you think? ;)

Happy Noshing!!!

Planning Ahead I

Today I sat down to make my menu and grocery list for the week. Upon reflection and weekly planning, it dawned on me that I should really start planning some freezer meals for when the baby gets here. Those of you who know me in real life will chuckle because you know how quickly I bounce back, but every mama wants to be lazy a few nights a week, especially when she has a new squishy bitty to snuggle, right? ❤ So I sat down today and came up with a list of some of our favorite meals that I know will freeze well. If you are expecting or need freezer meals for any reason, you may find this list helpful.

Tater Tot Casserole
Kielbasa and Yellow Rice
Lasagna
Hashbrown Casserole with Chicken
Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, and Corn
Chicken Broccoli Braid
Fried Rice
Spaghetti Sauce

The first meal I will showcase (and have to add a photo of later) is our favorite: Tater Tot Casserole

This will make a 13x9" pan, so it is easily divided up into two 8x8" dishes for freezing.
Ingredients:
1lb ground beef
1 can (or equivalent homemade) cream of mushroom
1/2 lb (you can use more or less, depending on your personal preference) shredded cheddar cheese
1 bag tater tots

Season and brown your ground beef and drain any remaining grease. Stir the cream of mushroom into the meat and spread into a greased dish. Cover substantially with cheddar cheese and top with tater tots, sprinkling with salt. At this point, you can cover the dish well with aluminum foil and freeze. Take care that you don't use a glass dish, as you put this directly into the oven without defrosting. Bake at 400*F for approximately one hour until cheese is bubbly and tater tots are crispy. This is a delicious meal that my husband and daughters frequently request and takes very minimal time to prepare.