Chicken Stuffing and Pineapple

This is the REAL recipe, and trust me it is really good. The problem is I don't have time to follow the REAL recipe every time I want to make this, so for the times that you do have time follow the top directions. AND for the times you don't... well skip to the bottom and get cooking!

Chicken Stuffing and Pineapple
2/3 cup hot water
2 T margarine
2 cups Stove Top Stuffing
1 can (8 1/4oz) crushed pineapple in syrup
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 med green pepper (optional)
2T brown sugar
2T vinegar
1/4 tsp ground ginger

Heat oven to 400degrees
Microwave butter and water until hot
Stir stuffing, water, butter, pepper and 1/2 pineapple/syrup in bowl
Spoon 1/2 stuffing mix into greased 9x9 pan
Place chicken over stuffing mix and top with remaining stuffing
Mix remaining pineapple, syrup, sugar, vinegar & ginger. Spoon over top of chicken/stuffing.
Cover, bake 350 for 30 min or until chicken is cooked through

Quick Fix: Chicken Stuffing and Pineapple
1, 20oz can crushed pineapple
1/2 cup water
1 box stuffing (choose whole wheat or low sodium if you want a healthier option)
4 thawed, chicken breasts**
Mix stuffing, pineapple and water in a bowl
Line 9x9 pan with tin foil
Dump 1/2 stuffing mixture into lined 9x9 pan
Lay chicken breasts on top of stuffing
Cover and bake at 375degrees for 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

**Baking time varies on the thickness of the chicken, so if you need supper on the table in a 1/2 hour, cut your chicken breasts so they are thinner.  If you have an hour for them to cook then leave them thick.

For leftovers or to feed a crowd, simply double everything (i.e use a whole bag of chicken breasts) and put into a 9x13 pan.

Banana Bread

3 ripe bananas
1/3 cup milk (any percent)
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup soft, butter (use wrapper to grease pan)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups whole wheat flour (no one will notice)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Add ingredients in order listed to mixing bowl (bananas can still be whole). Mix until well blended. Pour into 1, greased bread loaf pan (batter will fill pan 1/2-3/4 full). Bake for 1 hour on 350 degrees, use toothpick test if center looks soft. 

Vegetable Enchiladas

1 Tbs canola oil
1 med. onion, chopped
1 med. green pepper, chopped
1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
2 c. frozen corn, thawed (in microwave in needed)
2 c. zucchini, grated with skin on
1, 15oz can Mexican (or tex-mex) chili beans, undrained
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
12 whole wheat tortillas
1, 15oz can Enchilada sauce
1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease 13"x 9" baking dish.
In large skillet heat canola oil. Saute onion and green pepper until tender.
Add cilantro, corn and zucchini - heat 5 minutes.
Add beans, cumin, chili powder to veggies and stir thoroughly.
Place 1 tortilla in your 13x9 pan. Fill the tortilla with ~1/2 cup of bean/veggie mix, then roll the tortilla closed and tuck at the end of the pan. Repeat until you run out of veggie/bean mix.
Dump the can of enchilada sauce over the entire pan and sprinkle with desired amount of cheese.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 45 min. Remove foil and continue to bake 15 min OR broil on high for a quick 3 minute finish.

** Please note my husband and I rated this dish a 6 (10 being best) on the 1st night we tried it, but rated it an 11 leftover! We would both suggest making it for leftovers! It went from average to AWESOME overnight!

Breakfast Pies

1 batch Whole-Wheat Pie Dough (click here for directions)
5 egg whites
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1  onion, chopped
1 green or red pepper, chopped
4 oz breakfast sausage (the kind that comes in a roll)
3/4 cup shredded cheese


In large bowl whisk together the egg whites and full eggs, milk, salt and pepper, set aside.

In large skillet cook meat (like you would ground beef), drain off the grease and transfer meat to a large plate or glass bowl.

Using your dirty, greasy skillet that you just browned the meat in, cook your onions and peppers over med-high heat until tender. re-add (approx) 4oz of sausage that you just cooked. Let cool while you deal with the crust.


Now turn your oven on to 350.

Coat 12 muffin cups with spray or use an oiled paper towel

On a lightly floured surface roll out your pie crust to 1/8" thick (not too thin that you can't pick up an edge w/o it tearing).

Use a 4-5" round cookie cutter (or an upside down cup) to cut out circles, place circles in muffin tin
Repeat until all crust is gone or you have at least 12 circles (whichever you prefer).

Combine your egg and now-cooled, meat mixture and carefully spoon into your crust-lined cups. Sprinkle each cup with cheese (skip to save calories). Then bake ~30 min or until pies are set and crust is golden brown. Serve warm.

Whole-Wheat Pie Dough

1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup ice water (cold water from a fridge pitcher is perfect)

Before you start do some prep work!!! Disinfect and dry your counter-top. Set your ingredients, rolling pin, pie pan (muffin tin or pan) in front of you.  Lightly, sprinkle a circle of flour on your counter-top for later.

Combine flours and salt in a bowl. Using your bare hands mix the butter into the flour mixture. When combined add the egg and water and continue to mix with your hands until all ingredients are well blended. Form the dough into a ball and drop onto the flour circle. Use your rolling pin to shape the dough into the form you need.

**the original recipe says you can roll out the dough onto plastic wrap and chill if it is too soft to handle. It also says you can store the wrapped dough in an airtight container for a month. To thaw leave on counter for 30 min.

Beefy Bean Soup

This is my winter, chili alternative. It is a little less spicy than chili which makes it a GREAT soup for kids. It reheats wonderfully for leftovers and freezes well too.

Beefy Bean Soup
1, 29oz can tomato puree
1, 14.5oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup water
1 can beef broth
2 cubes beef or chicken bouillon cubes
1 t basil
1 t dried oregano
1 cup uncooked, whole wheat macaroni noodles
1, 16 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1, 16 oz can great northern beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 pound ground beef
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 t minced garlic (wet or dry)


Brown beef, celery, onion and garlic together until meat is no longer pink and veggies are tender. Drain.

Combine meat and all other ingredients into crockpot. Cook 4-5 hours on low. The longer it cooks the softer the noodles will be.  Makes 8 servings or enough for a family of 3 to have lots of leftovers.

Perfect Pulled Pork

5# boneless pork butt shoulder

1 1/2 tsp paprika
2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup water
buns

Combine all spices in a small bowl and rub evenly over meat. Place meat in 6 qt crock pot. Pour water over top. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours or high 4-5 hours until pork is tender.

Place pork on large cutting board and let rest (cool) for 15 min. Pull, slice or chop to serve. Serve in buns with BBQ sauce.

This makes a BUNCH of meat! So be ready for some yummy leftover sandwhich meat!

Why share?

If your family is like ours we eat at home the majority of the time. I prefer to eat at home because a) I know what's in our food b) I have control over the fat, sodium and preservatives in our meals and c) it saves money!

Most days I have a little helper in the kitchen so the recipes we make can't be too exact, too complicated OR take too long. Our prep time is limited to my patience and a 2 year old attention span. Ease and simplicity dominate our kitchen.

I started this blog as motivation for me to continue to try new recipes. I love to share the BEST foods we make and hope you find some dishes that you and your family enjoy as much as we do!

If you have a favorite recipe please send it to me as we would love to give it a test run.