Au Gratin Taco Bake

Hey guys,

We're Back!!
Seems like it's been a hot minute since we've posted. We hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful! Ours was spent with our family out in the country; but like posted above we're back and ready to bring you another recipe. Let's get this thing started shall we?

Like most of our readers we have busy weekdays. So on blog nights we look for something easy and simple. Who really wants to slave away in the kitchen for 4+ hours making this grand feast (unless it's a holiday of course) on a weeknight? Ma stumbled onto this recipe and it really can't get any easier than this. It's pretty much a few quick steps and bam you have a delish meal for yourself and your fam.

Here's what you'll need:
Au Gratin Taco Bake
Prep: 15 min.
Bake: 70 min.
Yield: 4-6 Servings

Ingredients:
•1 pound ground beef
•1 package (4.9 ounces) au gratin potatoes
•1 can (15-1/4 ounces) whole kernel corn, undrained
•1 can (14-1/2 ounces) no-salt-added stewed tomatoes, undrained
•3/4 cup 2% milk
•1/2 cup water
•2 tablespoons taco seasoning
•1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
•In a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in the potatoes and contents of sauce mix, corn, tomatoes, milk, water and taco
seasoning. Transfer to a greased 2-qt. baking dish.
• Cover and bake at 350° for 65-70 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake, uncovered, 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

WW Points: *9 for 1 cup





This was an amazing way to use au gratin potatoes. I've gotta say between the mexican feel and the creaminess of the dish it's gonna be a keeper.


Tid Bits:
*None tonight guys


Ma's Spot: I really enjoyed this recipe. It was quick, easy, and delicious. Three things I love to say with any recipe. So if you've had a long day at work, your kids
are bothering you, and you have housework to do this is the dinner you wanna fix. It can even be made the night before and heated up for the next night.


SNACK CORNER:* It's time for snack corner! Where we take new snacks in the grocery store and break it down for you. We tell you which are hot and which
are not. Let's get to this week's pick:

WW Points: *4 for 15 chips



Dinah: Tonight we bring you the latest and oddest Pringles to date. The White Chocolate Peppermint Pringles are a limited edition item for the holiday season.
Going into this I thought it would be a pringle dipped in white chocolate with crushed candy cane pieces on top of said chocolate. So imagine my dissappointment when I opened the tube to see just powder. I figured I'd still give them a shot even though my dreams were dashed. Ugh, what a huge letdown. Not only in appeal but flavor as well. I gave one to my husband and he even cringed. What was once so promising quickly faded into nastiness. The chip itself tastes like a regular pringle dipped in peppermint extract and not in a good way. You don't even get the peppermint taste until the after thought. All you taste is sweet powder and salt. Not thrilling my friends, not at all. So if disgusting flavor combos is your thing then I say go for it but I think I'll stick to either actual
pringles or peppermint and they will not be mingling together.



Ma: Unlike my daughter I liked them! Do I want a Pringle dipped in white chocolate? No. In return I do like these. I find these quite taste, not too over powering with peppermint, and you can really taste the white chocolate in the chips. So the only thing to do here readers is try these tasty chips yourself. Leave us your comment on these chips. Who's side are you on??
PS. Any of my friends reading this, you are on team Pam!




And that's all for tonight folks! We'll meet you here next Tuesday for another great recipe. Have a great week guys!




Spoons & Spatula's
~Dinah & Ma

A Little Note

Hey guys,

I'm so sorry that the blog for this week was delayed but some things have come up and Ma and I wanted you all to know that we'll be back with more entries on Nov. 27th. So until then we wanted to wish you guys a Happy Thanksgiving! and to say we are beyond thankful for you guys who read our blogs, make some of our dishes, or who are simply entertained by us/this blog. We love writing for you guys!


Spoons & Spatula's
~Dinah & Ma

Crockpot Italian Chicken

Hey guys,

So as you probably noticed there was no blog entry for last week. In light of the recent horrible hurricane known as Sandy (and being east coasters ourselves) we felt out of respect for the people who lost their loved ones, homes, possessions, etc... that we'd take that week off. So to our lovely east coast readers Ma and I wish you guys well and we send prayers and good vibes your way during this difficult time.We have last week's recipe ready to go for next week's entry but for tonight we bring you something simple and easy on the waistlines. I picked this after my first choice wasn't the best pick after some disscussions with Ma. Tonight's dish comes to you from Pinterest (what can I say I'm addicted, ha) and is sure to give your slow cookers a thrill.

Here's what you'll need:

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Crockpot Italian Chicken
Serves: 8
Source: The Girl Who Ate Everything
Ingredients:
*4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
*1 packet dry Zesty Italian dressing (Regular is fine but I like zesty better. Sometimes I use a packet and a half.)
*1 (8 oz) package fat free cream cheese, softened
*1-2 cans 98 % fat free cream of chicken soup (depending how cream cheesy you want it)

Instructions:
1. Place the chicken in a crockpot and sprinkle Italian dressing over it.
2. Combine cream cheese and cream of chicken soup in a small pot over low heat and pour over chicken.
3. Cook on low in the crockpot for at least 4 hours. You can leave it in there all day.
4. Once chicken is done you can leave the chicken breasts whole, cube it, or even shred it. I always cut the breasts into tenderloin size strips.
5. Once you have cut up the chicken, throw it back in the crockpot and stir into the sauce.
6. If you feel the sauce is too thick you can thin it to your preferred consistency with a little milk. Serve over pasta or rice.

 

WW Points: 4 PointsPlus per serving (does not include rice or pasta)


Soooo good! Loved the creamy texture and over noodles is quite splendid. :].


Tid Bits:
*If you get the real thin chicken breast then you don't have to take them out and cut/shred the chicken up. It should fall apart in the slow cooker with a little help.

Ma's Spot: I really enjoyed tonight's dinner. It was really simple, didn't have a lot of ingredients, and I had mine served over brown rice. I also tasted the chicken mixture over noodles. Both were very good. It's just really about your preference. I like rice more than noodles. Forgive me my italian ansestors. So make this meal and have a little rice or a little noodles and let your family pick which one they'd prefer. WHichever they pick I'm sure they'll enjoy. So whenever it's either for me I'm making this dish again.



SNACK CORNER:* It's time for snack corner! Where we take new snacks in the grocery store and break it down for you. We tell you which are hot and which are not. Let's get to this week's pick:

 

WW Points: *14 (for a small)


Dinah: Tonight we bring you the latest sweet treat from Burger King, the Gingerbread cookie shake. Oh how I love thee let me count the ways. This shake is probably the best thing since sliced bread but sadly my WW concience is yelling at me for diving into this sweet treat. 14 points is a whole hell of a lot of points to spend on a small shake but I'm gonna go out on a limb and say it's worth it. Yes, I realize you guys are probably like WTF? blog mistress noooo! Guys, this is REALLY good and normally I'd be with you on the boycott but my inner gingerbread loving self has to side with the shake this time. Besides, it's a sometimes treat and why not drink something you love?


Ma: This is my favorite time of year. Mainly because of all the main flavors such as cinnamon, pumpkin, gingerbread. They must have a psychic working at Burger King because he read my mind. Sometimes you just gotta live on the edge and say damn the points I'm going in! That's what I did. If I was a rich person, I would take my child out of my will and put the guy who made this shake in her place because this shake is soooooo good! It's a good thing that I want my soul to go to Heaven cause I really could sell my soul for this treat. To the creamy gingerbread shake to the wonderful whipped topping and the gingerbread cookie crumbles on top you just can't go wrong with this. So I encourage you to live a little and love this shake a lot.



Okie folks, that's all for tonight. We'll see you here next Tuesday with our next recipe. Have a great week guys!



Spoons & Spatula's ~Dinah & Ma