Cucumber Chicken Salad

Ingredients

  • 1 cup diced/chopped tomatoes
  • 2 medium cucumbers diced (about 1½ cups)
  • 1 medium red onion diced
  • 1 cup shredded chicken breast
  • 1 cup cottage cheese
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper

Notes

If you don’t have time to chop up tomatoes you can use a can of petit diced tomatoes that has been well-rinsed and drained.

You can also use leftover chicken breast or even canned chunk chicken breast that has been well drained to save time.

I have also seen someone add a drizzle of olive oil but that doesn’t feel necessary to me.

Easy Beans & Rice

Ingredients

  • 2 cups white rice
  • 15 oz can black beans
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp salt

Directions

  1. Mix dry rice, cumin, and salt
  2. Add water for cooking the rice
  3. Pour beans over the flavored rice and water
  4. Cook the rice just like normal

This makes a great side dish for burritos and the like. You could easily substitute pinto beans in place of the black beans and you could probably try spices other than cumin for different flavor profiles. Brown rice probably works just as well too.

Simple Chicken Salad

Ingredients

  • 12½ oz can precooked chunk chicken drained (1½ cups chicken if you aren’t using canned chicken)
  • ⅓ cup mayonnaise
  • 2 tsp mustard
  • ¼-⅓ cup grapes (cut in halves)
  • ¼ cup onion finely chopped
  • ⅓ cup celery finely chopped
  • Salt and/or pepper if desired

Directions

  1. Thoroughly mix mayonnaise and mustard.
  2. Stir in onions and celery.
  3. Mix in chicken—make sure that there are no large chunks by the time you finish mixing it.
  4. Fold in grapes.
  5. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving (not absolutely required).

Baked Rigatoni

From Kitchen Swagger

Ingredients

  • 1 pound of rigatoni or ziti
  • 1 pound ground sweet Italian sausage
  • ½ pound lean ground beef
  • 24 ounces marinara or tomato sauce
  • 15 ounces ricotta cheese, softened
  • 8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into bite-sized cubes
  • ⅓ + ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
  • 6-7 basil leaves, chopped
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
  2. Bring a large pot of water with a big pinch of salt to a boil. Cook pasta al dente, strain, and transfer to a room temperature bowl or pot.
  3. Stir in ⅓ cup parmesan cheese and 1 ½ cups tomato sauce. Mix and set aside.
  4. Bring oil in a large pan or skillet to medium heat. Cook sausage and beef until browned and fully cooked through, about 5-7 minutes. Break the sausage and beef into small chunks while Browning. Season with salt and pepper, to taste and set aside.
    • The flavor of the dish can be adjusted by shifting the ratio between the sausage and ground beef—anywhere from all ground beef to all sausage works based on your preferences.
    • The total amount of meat can also be adjusted if desired—up to 2 total pounds of meat works without adjusting the remaining ingredients.
  5. Take half of the pasta and layer filling the entire bottom of a 13X9 casserole or baking dish. Layer with half of the beef and sausage mix, and then half of the ricotta cheese.
    • Spread the ricotta with a rubber spatula, doing your best to spread it thinly and evenly. It will tend to stick. It’s best to work in small dollops and spread as best you can.
  6. Repeat step 5 with the remaining ingredients.
  7. Layer top with 1 cup of marinara. Transfer to the oven and bake for 15 minutes uncovered.
  8. Remove from the oven, top with a layer of ¼ cup parmesan cheese and all the fresh mozzarella. Bake for 20-25 additional minutes or until cheese is fully melted and starting to turn golden.
    • Sometimes a 2-minute broil at the very end will help deliver a perfect golden singe.
  9. Let cool for 10 minutes, top with basil, and serve cut in squares.

Deli Salad

Ingredients

  • 1 head Romaine lettuce
  • ⅔ cup Salami
  • 1-2 Cucumbers
  • ½ cup Provolone
  • ½ cup Pepperoni
  • 1 Red bell pepper
  • Marinated mozzarella balls
  • ⅓ cup Peperoncini
  • 1 Onion
  • ⅓ cup Italian dressing

Directions

  • Chop lettuce down in 1 inch slices
  • Chop up cucumbers, provolone, red bell pepper, and onion.
  • Models balls may be whole or cut in half.
  • Toss everything together.

You can obviously adjust the proportions of everything to your own preferences.

Mediterranean Chickpea Salad

Ingredients

  • 2 (15 oz) cans chickpeas
  • 1-2 medium cucumbers
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes (2 or 3 Roma tomatoes can work)
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 1 large avocado
  • ½ cup kalamata olives
  • ½ cup red onion
  • ⅓ cup feta cheese
  • ¼ cup fresh parsley
  • ½ cup salad dressing
    • ¼ cup Olive oil
    • ¼ cup red wine vinegar
    • 1 tbsp mustard
    • 1 tsp oregano
    • ½ tsp garlic powder
    • ¼ tsp salt
    • ¼ tsp black pepper

Directions

  1. Medium dice cucumber, bell pepper, onion, avocado, and parsley.
  2. Cut cherry tomatoes in half or quarters or medium dice roma tomatoes.
  3. Add chickpeas, cucumber, tomato, olives, onion, avocado, cheese, and parsley into a large salad bowl.
  4. Vigerously mix dressing ingredients (or use a premade dressing such as Greek, Italian, or a balsamic or vinaigrette dressing of your preference)
  5. Pour dressing over the salad and toss.

Creamy potato & mushroom soup

Ingredients

  • 4 lbs potatoes (6-7 medium potatoes)
  • 1 medium onion
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 3 cups milk
  • ¼ cup flour
  • 2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup
  • 2 tbsp butter

Directions

  1. Boil 2 quarts of water.
  2. Cube potatoes into medium cubes.
  3. While potatoes boil cut onion into a medium dice and add to boiling potatoes.
  4. Use potato masher to break down boiling potatoes and add chopped cloves of garlic.
  5. Cook for 15 minutes.
  6. Stir in milk and flour.
  7. Break down potatoes again if needed and add canned soup and salt to taste. (Fresh mushrooms would be an option too.)
  8. Melt 2 tbsp butter into the soup.

Stuffed crescent rolls

Ingredients

  • 2 cans of crescent roll dough (8 rolls per can)
  • 2 cups cooked and shredded chicken
  • 8 oz cream cheese, softened
  • ½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
  • ½ cup chopped green onions
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • Salt and black pepper, to taste

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375°
  2. Mix everything except the crescent dough until it is well combined.
  3. Separate dough into its precut triangles.
  4. Put 2 tbsp of filling at the wide end of each triangle and roll toward the pointed end while tucking in the corners of the wide end to keep the filling inside.
  5. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the dough is cooked through and golden.

Runza Casserole

Ingredients

  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1 small onion (diced)
  • 2 cups cabbage (shredded)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • ½ tsp Worcestershire sauce (for extra flavor!)
  • 1 can (8 oz) refrigerated crescent roll dough
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
  • 2 tbsp butter (melted, for brushing the top)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F and grease a 9×13-inch baking dish
  2. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook ground beef and diced onion until browned. Drain excess fat.
  3. Add cabbage, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and Worcestershire sauce. Cook for 5 minutes until the cabbage softens.
  4. Unroll half of the crescent roll dough and press it into the bottom of the baking dish
  5. Spread the beef and cabbage mixture evenly over the dough. Sprinkle with cheddar and mozzarella cheese.
  6. Unroll the remaining crescent roll dough and lay it over the top. Brush with melted butter.
  7. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the top is golden brown.

Mexican Corn Dip

Ingredients

  • 2 cups corn kernels (fresh, canned, or frozen & thawed)
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 ½ cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
  • ½ cup crumbled feta or Cotija cheese
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • ½ tsp smoked paprika
  • 1½ tsp chili powder
  • Juice of 1 lime (1-2 tsp)
  • Salt & black pepper to taste
  • Optional
    • 2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
    • 1 small jalapeño (finely diced, for heat)
    • Sliced green onion

Directions

  1. Prepare the corn
    • Fresh corn should be lightly grilled
    • Canned corn should be well drained
    • Frozen corn should be thawed in advance
  2. Combine sour cream, mayonnaise, shredded cheese, garlic powder, paprika, chili powder, lime juice, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.
  3. Stir in corn, crumbled cheese and any optional ingredients until everything is evenly mixed.