Homemade Gourmet - Simply Simmer Cacciatore

I am still trying to use all this Homemade Gourmet stuff I have in the pantry.  This mix came with a steamer bag, but I didn't use it.  I threw everything into the crock pot. Ingredients:

1 Homemade Gourmet® Simply Simmer Cacciatore Mix 1 15-ounce can stewed tomatoes 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins or chicken breasts cut into strips (fresh or frozen) Pasta of choice, prepared according to package instructions Shredded Parmesan cheese, optional I add in an onion and a bell pepper

1. Place mix and tomatoes into crock pot; stir to combine.
2. Add chicken and stir until all pieces are coated.
3. Cook on high 4 hours or low 6 hours.
4. Pour chicken over pasta and serve warm. Garnish with shredded Parmesan as desired.




I also added about 2 cups of leftover cooked broccoli and carrots right before serving.


This is my favorite Homemade Gourmet dinner.  I am often put off by the saltiness of these mixes, but this one is just right. 





Em loved it!

Homemade Gourmet - Mini Pecan Pie Muffins

I am cleaning out my pantry and I find a package of Homemade Gourmet Min Pecan Pie Muffins.

I had had these at a Homemade Gourmet party and was not too enthused with them.  They came in a pack sampler I bought and have just hung around the pantry for some time. 

You need this:

1 Homemade Gourmet® Mini Pecan Pie Muffin Mix 2 eggs, beaten 1 stick butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir all ingredients together in mixing bowl until blended.

2. Spray mini-muffin tins with flour-based cooking spray. Fill tins half full and bake for 12 minutes.

3. Remove muffins from oven and immediately remove from pan onto a cooling rack or counter top.

I thought, 'I have that stuff!  Let's do this!'  I mixed it all together and put it in the pan...  There were some large whole pieces of pecan in there and I was not sure how that would pan out (ha!) with the mini muffin pan and all, but I went for it. 

Then baked them and viola! teeny mini muffins!

Taste test:  These muffins were dainty cakes of pecan bliss.  I probably shouldn't admit this, but they didn't make it long enough to see the next batch come out from the oven.  Hubby, me, and the 2 year old LOVED them!
Tip:  If margarine is used, then the muffins are more cake like.  I used butter and they were caramelized and denser than when I had had them before.  That person obviously used margarine instead of butter and they were not as good to me.

Homemade Gourmet Yo! It's Queso Dip

So I had some Homemade Gourmet - Yo! It's Queso Dip sitting in my pantry and I decided to make something out of it.  It had been sitting in there for some time.  The first time I made this dip, I had put a roll of breakfast sausage in it and had these terribly salty tortilla chips.  It was GROSS!  I decided to not blame that dinner fiasco on the dip mix, and held on to it. 

Tonight I wanted something different so I mixed the dip as per the instructions:

Yo! It's Queso Dip

Ingredients
1	Homemade Gourmet® Yo! It's Queso Dip Mix
1 10 ounce	can diced tomatoes with green chilies (Rotel Tomatoes)
1/4 cup	milk
2 8 ounce	packages cream cheese, softened

Directions

1. Place mix in a microwavable bowl with canned tomatoes and milk. 2. Stir to blend. 3. Add cream cheese, cover and place in microwave on high for 1 1/2 minutes. 4. Break up cream cheese and stir. Return to microwave on high for another 1 1/2 minutes. 5. Stir, and continue to cook on high until cream cheese is smooth.  While I had this going on I had a 12 oz bag of elbow noodles boiling and about a pound of hamburger meat cooking up with an onion.  After those were cooked, I drained them.  I also peeled and shredded 3 large carrots and steamed them in a covered bowl in the microwave with a little bit of water for 3 minutes. I put the dip, noodles, meat, a can of corn, carrots and about 1/2 cup of salsa in a big old bowl and mixed it up.  You can stick it in the oven at 350 for a bit, but we were hungry so I decided to just serve it with a little bit of cheddar cheese on top.  You know what?  It was YUMMMY! Even the 2 year old ate it up.  It might not be the lowest calorie food ever, but you dont eat it every day.  I have renewed faith in Homemade Gourmet - Yo! It's Queso Dip.