Egg Rolls

Everybody in my house loves Asian food. The kiddo likes sweet and sour chicken (which is basically chicken nuggets with a fruity sauce to dip them in) and the hubs and I like pretty much everything stir-fried and served with a side of soy sauce. One of my favorite Asian dishes is egg rolls. I remember when I was a little kid my dad would take me out to eat at the grocery store deli because I loved the egg rolls they served!

Weird, I know. I used to order an egg roll as an appetizer every time we went out to the Asian restaurant, but I rarely order them now because I love these homemade ones so much! Even better, this recipe makes a ton, so I can have them as a main course instead of just an appetizer. They taste best fresh, so I use that as an excuse to eat as many of them as I want as soon as they come out of the fryer. 

Egg Rolls
Prep time: 30 min  Cook time: 15 min
Makes 20

1 (6 oz) can tiny shrimp or chicken
1 cup chopped canned bean sprouts
1 (8 oz) can water chestnuts, drained, chopped
1 (14 oz) bag coleslaw mix
1 cup diced onion
2 Tbs sesame seed oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 egg, beaten
20 egg roll wrappers

Stir-fry protein, bean sprouts, water chestnuts, coleslaw mix, and onion in oil till crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Add salt, pepper, and soy sauce to taste.

Scoop 1/4 cup of filling into an egg roll wrapper. Pull one corner of wrapper tightly over filling, then fold in the side corners. Brush beaten egg on the top corner and finish rolling. (Watch the short video below - it's easy!)

Deep fry at 325°F till golden brown and crispy. Drain and serve hot. I like to serve these with fried rice.  (I'll post that recipe soon!)

If you have any leftovers, make sure you reheat them in the oven on a metal pan so they regain their crispiness. Soggy egg rolls are yucky! You can also individually wrap uncooked egg rolls in wax paper then freeze to cook later.

Chicken Parmesan

One of my dear friends has been sick for some time, leaving her husband and child to fend for themselves. Assuming they might enjoy a home-cooked meal over Mickey D's once in a while, I have offered to cook for them on multiple occasions. Knowing their love of Italian food, the first meal I made for them was this family favorite recipe for chicken parm. It was a big hit. It went over so well, the next time I offered to make them a meal they wanted it again. And the next time. And the next time!

Needless to say, this meal is super yummy comfort food.  Like all my favorite meals, it's also really easy and comes together in mere minutes. I serve it with breadsticks and a salad for a great weeknight meal.

Chicken Parmesan

Prep time: 5 min  Cook time: 25 min
Serves 4

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, butterflied into thin halves
½ cup breadcrumbs
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp dried basil
1 tbsp dried thyme
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cups tomato sauce
4 oz fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. (Yes, that's right!)

Combine the herbs, salt, pepper, and breadcrumbs in a shallow dish to blend. Coat chicken with breading mixture and shake off any excess.

Heat olive oil in a large oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook just until brown, about 3 minutes per side. Remove the skillet from the heat.

Spoon the tomato sauce over and around the chicken. Sprinkle parmesan over each chicken breast. Cover each breast with mozzarella slices.

Bake, covered with foil, for 10 minutes, and then uncovered for 5 minutes, until the cheese melts and the chicken is cooked through.

312 calories per serving.  Click here for more nutritional info and shopping list!

French Onion Chicken Casserole

When I first saw this recipe I thought it sounded okay, but not exactly earth-shattering. I put it on my menu, but I didn't really have high hopes for it. Boy, was I wrong!  This was so yummy and satisfying; I had two servings and would've had a third but I didn't want to look like a pig in front of my company. I was very reluctant to give up the leftovers when my husband asked if we could send a few servings home with my mother-in-law.

This takes a little prep work: you have to precook the chicken and the noodles before you bake the casserole, but you could easily prep this ahead of time and bake it later. You could even stick it in the freezer to save for a lazy day!

French Onion Chicken Casserole

Prep time: 30 min  Bake time: 30 min
Serves 8

4 cups cooked chopped chicken
1 1/2 cup frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
2 cans cream of chicken soup
16 oz container French Onion Dip
1 cup cheddar cheese
12 oz egg noodles
1 cup crushed french fried onions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a 9x13-inch pan with cooking spray.

Cook egg noodles according to package directions; drain.

Combine chicken, veggies, soup, dip, and cheese. Stir in cooked egg noodles.

Pour mixture into prepared pan. Top with crushed french fried onions.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until heated through.

394 calories per serving.  Click here for more nutritional info and shopping list!

Blueberry Custard Pie

I LOVE blueberries, but not the tiny, sour, overpriced ones that the grocery store has most of the year. I lived in Michigan for a few years and there were half a dozen blueberry farms within 20 miles of my house and every year we'd buy gallons of dark purple, sweet, juicy berries the size of marbles. They didn't need anything to be delicious so we ate them plain by the fistful, but we'd also eat them with ice cream and bake them in pies.

I was so excited last week when I learned my local blueberry farm was open for business and I sent my husband with explicit directions to come home with no less than 2 gallons of blueberries. I wanted to make a blueberry trifle for the company I had coming, blueberry muffins for breakfast, and 2 batches of blueberry cobbler to feed the teenagers at youth group. He came home with NONE! By the time he got there, they were sold out.Total bummer. I gave up on my extensive blueberry plans, but I was so in the mood for blueberries that I gave in and bought 1 pint from the grocery store. It wasn't enough to make most of the recipes I was craving, but it was just enough to make this pie. I've never put custard in my blueberry pie before, and I've never put streusel on top, but I really loved the end result! This was good cold, but it was amazing served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.

Blueberry Custard Pie

Prep time: 15 min  Bake time: 45 min
Serves 8

1 cup (8 oz) sour cream
¾ cup sugar
1 egg
2 Tbs flour
2 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp salt
2 cups fresh blueberries
1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust

Streusel Topping:
½ cup brown sugar
⅓ cup flour
¼ cup butter, softened
½ cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl, mix the sour cream, ¾ cup sugar, egg, 2 tablespoons flour, vanilla extract and salt with a spoon until smooth. Gently fold the blueberries into the sour cream mixture. Spoon the filling into the unbaked pie crust.

Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes.

While the filling is baking, prepare the streusel topping: In a medium bowl combine the brown sugar and flour. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles course sand. Fold in the chopped pecans.

After the filling has baked 25 minutes, sprinkle the streusel crunch topping over the top of the pie. Bake an additional 15-20 minutes or until filling is set and topping is brown.

Make sure your crust doesn't burn. Either use a crust shield or make a loose foil tent towards the end of baking.

Remove from oven and let pie sit for at least 10-15 minutes. Serve pie warm or chill it and serve cold.

352 calories per serving.  Click here for more nutritional info and shopping list!

Veggie Crescent Squares

Have you ever been so wiped out that you could feel every single inch of your body--because all of it hurt? Yeah, that was me about 2 am yesterday morning after spending every spare moment of the past week preparing to cater a big party at my church. The guest list went from 60 to 100 overnight and the actual turnout was even higher. My menu was a little intense for a party of 60 and absolutely overwhelming for 110. but this was one dish that was no big deal to double and then quadruple as the guest list grew. I love this for parties because, besides being easy, it's fresh and pretty and everybody loves it.  Feel free to substitute whatever vegetables you prefer, but I like the color palette this variety provides.

Veggie Crescent Squares

Prep time: 15 min  Cook time: 15 min
Serves 24

2 (8 oz) cans crescent roll dough
2 (8 oz) blocks cream cheese, softened
1 cup mayonnaise
1 (1 oz) package dry ranch dressing mix
1 cup fresh broccoli, chopped
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 cup chopped bell pepper
1 cup chopped cucumber
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Roll out the crescent roll dough onto a 9x13 inch baking sheet, and pinch together edges to form the crust. Bake crust for 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Once finished cooking, remove crust from oven and let cool 15 minutes without removing it from the baking sheet.

In a small mixing bowl combine cream cheese, mayonnaise, and dry Ranch dressing. Spread the mixture over the cooled crust.

Arrange broccoli, tomato, green bell pepper, cauliflower, shredded carrots, and cheddar cheese over the cream cheese layer. Chill for one hour, slice and serve.

212 calories per serving.  Click here for more nutritional info and shopping list!