Potluck Perfect: Meatball Pizza Casserole

So.
Over Thanksgiving, after a very exciting Michigan win over Penn State, we went to my mom's.  We heard about her adventures in Italy, enjoyed a delicious stuffed pork tenderloin meal, and I caught up on my What's Cooking reading.
The problem with moving as much as J and I have is that I no longer get What's Cooking Magazine.  As one gigantic advertisement for Kraft, it's absolutely brilliant.  That you have to pay for it?  Eh, not nearly as much.  So when it stopped showing up, I ended up embarking on the Magazine Challenge of the past 2 years.  Perhaps not getting the magazine is not all bad.  I've actually made lots of new stuff that is really good.
But when given a chance to watch some TV and flip through magazines, I found myself drawn back into all the interesting things you can make with Kraft.  I saw this, and knew we'd enjoy it.  We did.  For many, many nights.  It would freeze well, too.  I probably should have done that.
I present to you now Kraft's Meatball Pizza Casserole:

Go to Meal: Bake Thing

You know how there are things you make all the time that are time honoured recipes in your house?  Things that when you don't know what to make, you could always make that?  That's what Kraft Mexican Bake Thing is around here.
Once, back a long time ago, I was flipping through a Kraft What's Cooking magazine and came across this simple recipe that used Kraft Dinner, ground beef, cheese and salsa.  So easy, I made it one weekend.  So easy, I've kept making it.  I've subbed milk for the sour cream, but sour cream is better (it makes the whole thing thicker), I've crushed Tostitos and sprinkled them over the top (I love that).  Any taco seasoning and salsa will do, but I recommend Penzey's Bold taco seasoning and Pace Medium Picante Sauce.  It's pretty spicy like that, though.
The Kraft website give this dish the rather unexciting name, Taco Bake.  Our name comes from J's asking one time what we were having for dinner and my telling him, "You know, that Mexican Bake Thing from the Kraft magazine."  The legend was born.

Go To Meal: Saucy Mexican Chicken

So.
According to the What's Cooking that this recipe was in, this is a heart healthy recipe.  I would agree that it probably is.  The black beans add fibre, the tomatoes have lycopene, and the chicken pieces aren't that large.  It does get better the more cheese you add to it too.
I have a mostly hate relationship with low fat cheese.  I think it comes from living in France and eating the good stuff for too long.  Low fat cheese doesn't really melt, and I always question what it's *really* made of.  But there's enough other stuff to counterbalance the cheese, and this is delicious on a bed of rice with a side of green veg like broccoli.
I present to you now the as healthy as you want it to be Saucy Mexican Chicken from What's Cooking:

Go To Meal: Crockpot Lasagna

So.
We've established that I'm a control freak, and that I have issues getting dinner on the table, even in summer apparently.  As a result, it's nice to have things that are simple, last a few days, and are delicious.  Bonus points if my husband can start them and have dinner ready when I get home.
Here is a case in point.  If the crockpot is ready, he can plug it in and make sure dinner's ready for us.  I'm always on the search for new recipes for the crockpot that are good, easy. and look appetizing.  Sometimes, I find the chicken rubbery, the roasts all taste the same, and everything's brown.  This is not one of those recipes.  It comes out perfectly every time.  And like a real lasagna, the first slice or two always looks, in the inimitable words of my mother, predigested.  There's an image you want to think about while reading about food.  Yeah.  Moving on.
This originally came from What's Cooking, the Kraft magazine.  I've made it with beef, but the pictures here are the one I made while cleaning out my freezer, so it's made with 1 lb bulk sausage.  It was good too.
I present to you now Kraft's Crockpot Lasagna:

Leftovers: Pork Fried Rice

So.
After the success of the pork tenderloin, we had some leftover pork.  In the latest issue of What's Cooking, they had an Asian Pork Tenderloin, and a Pork Fried Rice to make with the second one.  While I used the Balsamic Grilled recipe in the first place, I saved the second tenderloin to make this.
I present to you now What's Cooking's Pork Fried Rice:

Dinner with Friends: Strawberry Cream Roll

So.
I needed a make ahead dessert for when we had friends for dinner.  Something summery.  Something that used things in my cupboards.  I started flipping through my What's Cooking summer magazines and came across this recipe.  A couple of small changes, and I was on my way to a fabulous dessert.
I had never made an angel food cake mix before.  Frankly, I've never made my own angel food cake.  I don't think I'll ever get around to making the cake from scratch.  I'd hate wasting all of those yolks, or I'd end up making ice cream that I don't really need.  The mix was just add water, and put in the pan.  It came out beautifully.
I present to you now a tweaked version of Kraft's Heavenly Strawberry Roll:

Dinner with Friends: Parmesan-Crusted Stuffed Chicken

So.
One of my resolutions this year was to have more friends in for dinner.  J and I have decided that we want to have people in every 4-6 weeks for a meal.  This was our second meal with friends in as many months.  Once again, we had friends in with kids.  So really there were 2 meals:  This chicken for those of us over 10, and plain chicken for those of us not so much.
I present to you now an easy, elegant chicken that was enjoyed by all:  Parmesan-Crusted Stuffed Chicken:

Dinner with Friends: Jewelled Layered Salad

So.
Keeping with the theme of what I served for dinner when friends came, I present to you this salad.
I originally made this salad to take to family Christmas 2011.  I took home an empty bowl.  I thought it was so pretty in the pictures in the magazine, and you could put it together before going, and combined a whole bunch of things I loved in one bowl.  Other people thought it was tasty too.
As opposed to Christmas with 25 other people, there were only 4 of us eating this Saturday night.  The 6 year olds each ate 1 leaf of spinach.  We had some apples and cranberries left in the bottom of the bowl with some dressing.  I plan to add new spinach and almonds tomorrow to mix and stir.  It will still be good.
I present to you now Kraft's Layered Jewelled Spinach Salad:

Dinner with Friends: 4 Cheese Italiano Chicken Bake

So.
Before starting this blog, I posted no recipes, but pictures of my dinner on Facebook with alarming regularity.  Frankly, taking pictures for posting to Facebook was the.  best.  use.  ever.  of my blackberry.  I would post what we were having and let the comments roll.  There were the usual, "Oh, that looks good"s or "What's in that?"s, but my friend Carrie kept joking that I should make her dinner.  I told her that I should too, and invited her, her husband and 2 girls for dinner...in JULY.
It is now March.  We had them for dinner on Saturday.  But, you know, the good thing is we finally got around to having dinner.  J was thrilled that there was another boy coming for dinner, and I was thrilled to be making good on my resolution to have more company in for dinner.
Apparently Carrie's husband was concerned that I would make eggplant lasagne...but I didn't.  I made this.  It's super easy, super yummy, and probably high in sodium, but I totally don't care.  I don't make this a lot, just like I don't cook with or drink wine a lot.  That was good too.
I present to you now the 4 Cheese Italiano Chicken bake:

A Meal to Share: Zesty Chicken Roll Ups

So, friends of ours from our Home Church had a baby last Sunday.  Yay!!  And, as usual when something happens in the life of our group, there is a request for food for the family.  As someone who has been on the receiving end of meals when you just don't have the time/energy/hands to do so, I like to be able to send something.  Frankly, I like to be able to send all the components of a meal.  When I had a broken wrist, I appreciated the soup, but I appreciated the people who sent not just an entree but salad and dessert as well.  Unfortunately, I don't have time to make dessert.  But I'm hoping to send a salad to go with this.
An even better bonus from this recipe? It makes 2 pans:  one to share, and one for Wednesday night when I get home from guitar late.  J can put this in.  Finally, I'm in the process of cleaning out the freezer.  This will use up the cooked chicken and small tortillas that are lurking in the bottom of the basket in the bottom of the fridge.  I present to you from Kraft What's Cooking Zesty Chicken Tortilla Rollups:

An Eruption of Cheesy Goodness: Volcano Sandwiches

I've said before how much I enjoy the Kraft What's Cooking magazine.  They have things that are fun, simple, tasty, and easy.  And a bunch of things that seem recycled.  I mean, there are only so many ways you can marinate chicken in salad dressing and cook it, despite the plethora of flavours of salad dressings that there are out there.
While I like making new things, I am asked by J to make some of those things that I've tried in the past that are really good.  Here's an example from What's Cooking Fall 2007.  I obviously started making these after we got married.  I don't know if it was because I had hot dog buns lingering in the back of my freezer, or I just thought they looked interesting.
These come from the Kids can Cook section, and I can totally see how these are kid friendly.  They're also husband friendly.  I pretend that I make them healthy by using whole wheat buns.  I present for your enjoyment a great weekend dinner, Cheesy Volcano Meatballs.  It's even Kraft's title, not some bastardized version from when J and I are talking and I can't remember what I'm planning to make is called:

Chicken Thursday: Salsa-Chicken Tostadas

J and I both love Mexican food.  Living here in the Great White North as we do (despite the fact that this winter "White" is questionable), there is an incredible dearth of good Mexican.  As a result, we are always on the lookout for good Mexican when visiting the States.  Ask me for recommendations in Michigan and Ohio...there are some great places!
This week, while deciding what to make, I came across this recipe in the Spring 2010 Kraft What's Cooking.  I bought Old El Paso refried beans to use.  Once we realized that this was for Thursday night, we both started saying "Chicken Thursday" in the same accent as the guy in the Old El Paso commercials; proving once again that we don't get out much.

Om, Nom, Nom...

I love the Kraft magazine.  Their food is easy, appetizing, and uses things that I often stock in my kitchen.  Even better, I'm still getting the magazine for free.  I haven't decided yet if I'm planning to continue with it when I'm sent a subscription form and I have to pay for it.  Argh.  Some of my favourite dishes come out of the Kraft magazine.  Many things that I make regularly.  But, I also cull back issues for things I missed.

Here's a gem from the Fall 2010 edition.  It was easy, and went from, "Oh my gosh, it's after 6:30 and I haven't started cooking!" to table at 7:10.