Air Fried Chicken Tenders, Hatch Chili Goodles & Sauteed Zucchini with Onions

 

Air Fried Chicken Tenders, Hatch Chili Goodles & Sauteed Zucchini with Onions

Using lightly breaded chicken and high protein pasta really helps make it a bit healthier. It's 100 degrees today and I wasn't turning on the oven, and I didn't feel like cooking too much. I made the Goodles as the directions said, with the butter options. I've tried the regular mac & cheese flavor without the butter option and it was kinda dry and not that great. The hatch chili flavor is reallly good, and even my husband said it's "not bad" which is high praise for a healthier option like this lol.

I followed the directions for the tenders too, I think it was 390 for 10 minutes? It says on the bag. The sauce is just bottled Chick-fil-a sauce because that's always delicious. I was going to make a high protein dipping sauce but like it said, it's hot so I didn't want to spend to much time in the kitchen.

My husband planted some zucchini plants and we didn't even realize we had any growing until we found this giant one buried under some leaves! It's as big as my 40oz cup.

I pretty much followed this recipe by Well Plated, except I did add garlic because garlic good. 

Cheesecake Brookie Cups

 

Cheesecake Brookie Cups

    Ingredients:

- 1 roll of cookie dough

- 1 box of brownie mix (and the eggs etc needed on box)

- 1 tub of already made cheesecake

This was based off a few Tiktok's I saw, it's delicious!

Preheat oven to 350.

 Spray a regular sized muffin tin with baking spray. Slice the cookie dough roll into 12 slices. Lightly squish the cookie dough into the bottom of the muffin tin. Make brownie mix according to directions and dollop the mix into each muffin tin....hole? I feel like that's the wrong word. Then dollop a spoonful of cheesecake mix over the brownie/cookie mix. I think I used about 1/3 of the cheesecake tub. Grab a knife or toothpick and swirl the cheesecake and brownie mix together, it doesn't have to be perfect at all.

I cooked it for 30 minutes but I was worried it wouldn't be done because there really wasn't a way to check, so I did 10 more minutes. It was perfect! My oldest and I loved it, my husband said they were fine and my youngest wouldn't try them. I'd definitely make them again though!

Potstickers with Spicy Kani Salad

 

Potstickers with Spicy Kani Salad

Normally when we have potstickers (just the frozen pork ones) I just make a bunch and we munch on that. But I saw this recipe for spicy kani salad that I wanted to make, so I thought it would make a good side for it!

I did make a couple of changes to the salad "dressing", I added some garlic and a bit of chili crunch with a half of a squeezed lime. I also topped it with cilantro because we had some to use up. It's very good! I'd definitely make it again, but I'd make the mayo base before hand so it has some time to meld and be a bit less mayo-e. The store only had a bigger bag of imitation crab meat and a giant cucumber, so I have enough to make another batch this weekend. 

Click here for the Spicy Kani Salad recipe from Al Dente Diva

Edit: so I made this again with a few changes and it's SO MUCH BETTER! I was almost out of mayo so I just used a little bit, and I subbed the rest with nonfat greek yogurt. I also added fresh squeeze tube ginger, some jarlic, and a bit of soy sauce. It's so much better without being full mayo, it's much more light & fresh tasting. 

Swedish Meatballs with Roasted Broccoli

 

Swedish Meatballs with Roasted Broccoli

I've never tried Swedish meatballs but I've always wanted to! They reminded me off beef stroganoff, we really liked them. I wish it made a bit more sauce, or I accidentally reduced it too much maybe. It's fine for dinner but leftovers are gonna be a challenge lol. Maybe I'll serve the meatballs and toss the egg noodles in butter, parm and garlic or something. Both boys loved it so it made me happy. My husband even said thumbs up, which is nice. 

I did add the full 2lbs of meat, so I upped the breadcrumbs to a 1/2 cup and I used 2 eggs. They had so much flavor! I also used regular breakfast sausage, since Walmart has been out of ground pork every single time I've tried to buy it. I Googled it and it said breakfast sausage was a good substitute. Oh I did add a dash of garlic powder to the sauce because I really wanted my husband to like it and he likes garlic lol. 

The broccoli was just tossed in EVOO, salt/pepper/garlic/smoked paprika and air fried at 400 for about 15 minutes. 

Click here for the Swedish Meatball recipe from Budget Bytes

Sam the Cooking Guy's Bagel Bacon Breakfast Casserole

 

Sam the Cooking Guy's Bagel Bacon Breakfast Casserole 

This is incredible! I made it for my husband for Father's day, so I did make 2 changes that he requested. He doesn't like "everything but the bagel" seasonings, so we switched the bagels to onion bagels. Also instead of herb cream cheese we switched to jalapeno cream cheese. Other then that I made it exactly as written. It' so so flavorful and delicious, it's my new fav breakfast casserole for sure. Another company worthy recipe, if we ever had company haha.

Click here for the Bagel Bacon Breakfast Casserole by Sam the Cooking Guy

Banana S'mores Muffins

 

Banana S'mores Muffins

I'm not normally a big fan of baking but we had all the ingredients for these so I thought they'd be fun. I don't enjoy baking as much because I feel like I have to use a million dishes and there is way more cleanup then regular cooking. I need to get over it because I do love when my family loves something I make :)

 These muffins are super good! I mean they are full of sugar, marshmallows and chocolate so of course they are. I'd definitely make them again and they're fun for summer. For some reason my batch ended up making like 22 muffins instead of the 16 it called for, I guess I didn't fill them enough. But the cook time was still spot on! Oh also I didn't realize Walmart had substituted regular graham crackers for cinnamon, but I really don't think it made any difference.

I got this cute cake display thing on Amazon, since I usually just toss baked goods into a Ziploc bag, this is a way cuter way to store them and hopefully it helps people remember that we have them so I don't end up throwing it away because we forgot about it. 

Click here for the Banana S'mores Muffins recipe from Inside Bru Crew

Lemon Salmon Pasta with Asparagus and Garlicky Green Beans

 

Lemon Salmon Pasta with Asparagus and Garlicky Green Beans

This pasta was a mixture of these two recipes:

Canned Salmon Pasta by Salt & Lavender

Creamy Salmon & Asparagus Pasta by Salt & Lavender

  I followed the canned salmon pasta recipe, but Walmart was out of fresh parsley, so I used a squirt of the refrigerated tube basil for the freshness. I also added some dried dill because I was worried it would be missing out on flavor. Oh and I also used angel hair pasta instead of spaghetti, I felt it would be a better texture.

  I also wanted to stretch it some so I added a half bunch of chopped asparagus, 1/4 cup of heavy cream and a handful of shredded parm like the 2nd recipe. Next time I would double the 1st recipe because even with the additions, 4 oz of pasta isn't enough for 3 of us. 

  I normally buy steam in the bag green beans, but Walmart was out and replaced it with a giant bag of fresh green beans. So I steamed/boiled/skillet? Cooked the green beans in about a cup of chicken broth, 3 tbs butter, salt/pepper/garlic/dill/tube parsley for about 10 minutes. It was a bit too long so they got a little mushy, but the flavor was super good. After they cooked I tossed them in some leftover lemon zest and the other half of the lemon, squeezed. 

  My teenager also got some garlic toast because teenager. I LOVE this. The freshness of the herbs and salmon with the lemon, and the creaminess of the cheese and heavy cream. Perfection. Plus it's super quick!

Street Corn Chicken Enchiladas with Queso Broccoli

 

Street Corn Chicken Enchiladas with Queso Broccoli

This is super delicious, and it's easy but also I feel like it took longer then it should have. But it was probably a personal problem lol. I did add an onion to the mix since I have a bunch, and I did thin out the sauce a tad with some salsa verde because I had some of that too. Other then that I followed the recipe exactly! It's incredible, like company worthy.

The broccoli was just a fresh bagged broccoli with microwave steam instructions. After I steamed it I tossed it with some queso, pepper and garlic.

I loved it, my teenager is sleeping so he hasn't tried it...but my husband also really liked it.

I love it normal, but the tajin & lime really take it over the top to be special.

Click here for the Street Corn Chicken Enchilada recipe from Al Dente Diva

Burgers with Air Fried Potatoes

 

Burgers with Air Fried Potatoes

This was just a last minute "what do we have" meal. The burgers are just Walmart brand frozen patties that I cooked with Worchestershire and a salt/pepper/garlic blend. I had a bag of yellow potatoes I had to use up so I was going to make fries, but I just made this air fryer recipe instead. My son also had a cut up Cara Cara orange because they are amazingly delicious!

The burgers were just topped with the normal toppings, and I added those Frank's Hot Pickle's that I talked about on the smash burger taco post.  No one liked those pickles so they took them off lol.

Easy dinner that's always yummy!

Click here for the Crispy Air Fryer Roasted Potato recipe from Natasha's Kitchen

Toast with Cottage Cheese, Egg and Chili Crisp

 

Toast with Cottage Cheese, Egg and Chili Crisp

This has been a favorite breakfast lately. 2 slices of low calorie bread, spread with low fat cottage cheese. I bit of chili crisp spread over the cottage cheese and topped with an egg that I cooked in the skillet with salt/pepper/garlic. Super good and high protein!

Skillet Lasagna with Taylor Farms Jalapeno Popper Salad Kit

 

Skillet Lasagna with Taylor Farms Jalapeno Popper Salad Kit

Walmart was out of full fat ricotta so I got low fat instead. Apparently low fat doesn't brown when broiling! I kinda burnt the mozzarella when I was trying to get some color on the ricotta. So weird. Oh well I know better for next time and it was still good.

I've made skillet lasagna before, but I've usually done like sugar free sauce, drained the fat etc trying to make it healthier. This time I didn't drain the fat and I used the Italian sausage and garlic Prego. Full fat cheeses and all the flavor lol. It was so good! Normally Italian's not my fav, but I really liked this.

There's 4 cups of spinach in it, and my husband doesn't like when I put spinach in recipes. But it's so good for us and the recipe called for it so I did it anyway. He kinda made a face while I was cooking, but he said he didn't even taste it and he loved the dinner.

This salad kit was also super good! I was kinda worried it would be too spicy for my son (he's not a huge lover of spicy) but nope, it's just full of flavor. The dressing tastes like ranch which is always good. 

My teenager also got some bread & butter and watermelon because he's always hungry. Bread and butter always reminds me of being young and my dad, I really don't know why. I mean I remember him once microwaving bread & butter, but I'm not sure why that stuck with me lol.

Click here for the Skillet Lasagna recipe by Olive & Mango

Great Value Strawberry Pancake Mix Review

 

Great Value Strawberry Pancake Mix Review

I got this strawberry pancake mix awhile back from Walmart and I decided to finally make it this weekend. Imagine my surprise when it was Pepto Bismol pink! 

They don't look very appetizing, but I do think the color is pretty lol. Luckily after cooking they looked a little better.

They were okay, not super impressive or anything. The strawberry flavor was super light and barely noticeable. But fun to try and I'd buy them again for Valentine's day or something, but they wouldn't be going in our rotation or anything.

Air Fried Tilapia with Ranch Mashed Potatoes & Cauliflower Mushroom Medley

 

Air Fried Tilapia with Ranch Mashed Potatoes & Cauliflower Mushroom Medley

This was an unplanned last minute meal. I defrosted some tilapia and randomly marinated it for a few hours. Then I seasoned it with the listed seasonings, air fried it at 400 for 5 minutes, then flipped it and seasoned the other side and cooked it for 5 more minutes. It was really good! I didn't measure anything I just seasoned with my heart.

The seasoning was the same as the marinade but without the evoo & lemon juice.

Marinade:

- EVOO

- garlic powder

- onion powder

- lemon juice

- Italian seasoning

- smoked paprika

- cayenne

- salt, pepper, garlic

- topped with grated parm before cooking

We had a side of ranch mashed potatoes that I added extra ranch powder & pepper to. The frozen mushroom cauliflower blend I added some Italian seasoning, salt/pepper/garlic and parm. It was fine but I'm not a huge fan of cauliflower rice. 

I loved how quick this meal was, it literally took 10 minutes to cook.