Sheet Pan Panini
Thursday, August 28, 2025
Sheet Pan Panini
Sheet Pan Panini
One Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs
Spaghetti
2.Push meatballs to the side, add spaghetti + all other ingredients straight into the pan.
3.Cover with a lid and cook on a medium heat, stirring often so pasta doesn’t stick.
👉Keep an eye on liquid and top up with stock/water if needed.
4.Once pasta + meatballs are cooked through, finish with basil and a grating of cheese!
The easiest, sauciest, most flavour-packed pasta you’ll ever make.
Save this one-pan wonder for your next weeknight dinner 👯 Tag someone who’d demolish this whole pan with you
Orange Chicken
Orange Chicken
Source: Modern Honey
Ingredients
Chicken:▢4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts cut into bite-size pieces
▢3 Eggs whisked
▢1/3 cup Cornstarch
▢1/3 cup Flour
▢Salt
▢Oil for frying
Orange Chicken Sauce:▢1 cup Orange Juice
▢1/2 cup Sugar
▢2 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar or White Vinegar
▢2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce use tamari for a gluten-free dish
▢1/4 teaspoon Ginger
▢1/4 teaspoon Garlic Powder or 2 garlic cloves, finely diced
▢1/2 teaspoon Red Chili Flakes
▢Orange Zest from 1 orange
▢1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
▢
Garnish:▢Green Onions
▢Orange Zest
Instructions
To make orange sauce:
In a medium pot, add orange juice, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and red chili flakes. Heat for 3 minutes.
In a small bowl, whisk 1 Tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 Tablespoons of water to form a paste. Add to orange sauce and whisk together. Continue to cook for 5 minutes, until the mixture begins to thicken. Once the sauce is thickened, remove from heat and add orange zest.
To make chicken:
Place flour and cornstarch in a shallow dish or pie plate. Add a generous pinch of salt. Stir.
Whisk eggs in shallow dish.
Dip chicken pieces in egg mixture and then flour mixture. Place on plate.
Heat 2 -3 inches of oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Using a thermometer, watch for it to reach 350 degrees.
Working in batches, cook several chicken pieces at a time. Cook for 2 - 3 minutes, turning often until golden brown. Place chicken on a paper-towel-lined plate. Repeat.
Toss chicken with orange sauce. You may reserve some of the sauce to place on rice. Serve it with a sprinkling of green onion and orange zest, if so desired.
Freezing Orange Chicken:
- Cook your chicken and let cool completely. When cooled place in a gallon sized freezer bag.
- Place uncooked sauce into labeled gallon sized bag. Remove all the air.
- Add the sauce bag into the chicken bag to help prevent them from getting separated. Place in your freezer for 3 to 4 months.
- Place frozen orange sauce mix into a pot of boiling water. Stir continuously, then reduce heat to low and simmer 1 to 2 minutes or until sauce thickens up.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Place frozen chicken on a greased or parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes until chicken is fully heated through.
- Pour sauce over chicken and serve with chopped green onions if using.
Bean and Cheese Enchiladas
Bean and Cheese Enchiladas
1 Can Refried Beans, 16 ounces
▢1 teaspoon Cumin
▢1/2 teaspoon Chili Powder
▢2/3 Cup Cheddar Cheese
▢6 Flour Tortillas
For the Sauce
▢1/2 teaspoon Cumin
▢1/4 teaspoon Chili Powder
▢1/4 Cup Sour Cream
▢1 ½ Cup Cheddar Cheese, shredded
Instructions
For the Bean Mixture
In a medium bowl, combine the beans, seasonings and cheese until smooth.
1 Can Refried Beans,1 teaspoon Cumin,1/2 teaspoon Chili Powder,2/3 Cup Cheddar Cheese
Add a dollop or two to each tortilla and roll closed.
6 Flour Tortillas
For the SauceWhisk together the enchilada sauce, seasonings and sour cream.
1 Can Red Enchilada Sauce,1/4 Cup Sour Cream,1/2 teaspoon Cumin,1/4 teaspoon Chili Powder
For the EnchiladasPreheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Spoon 1/3 cup of the enchilada sauce in the bottom of an 9×13 inch baking dish.
Place the enchiladas seam side down and top with the remaining sauce and cheese.
1 ½ Cup Cheddar Cheese
Bake for 30 minutes and enjoy.
Assemble without baking, wrap tightly, and freeze for up to 3 months. Bake from frozen at 375°F for about 45 minutes.
Wednesday, August 27, 2025
Salsa Verde Enchiladas
*I went to look for this recipe and couldn't find it and almost panicked. How could I not have posted this? I've made it 100 times. Thankfully it was stuck in my drafts from September 5, 2020. Here I am almost 5 years later adding it (by request of Austin) to our meal plan. (Note, Austin actually has requested the taquito version of this where you put the filling in a tortilla and crisp it in the oven. We will have it for dinner and then he will pack it for his coop lunch.)
Easy Salsa Verde Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups (16 ounces) salsa verde
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup cilantro leaves and tender stems, chopped, plus more for serving
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 cup shredded cheddar or Mexican cheese blend
8 flour tortillas
Directions:
Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat then cook garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the salsa verde and cook until heated through, about 1 minute. Remove skillet from the heat then stir in the sour cream and cilantro. Taste for seasoning, adjusting with salt, pepper or more sour cream if the sauce it too spicy. Set aside about 1 cup of the sauce for assembling the enchiladas.
Stir the shredded chicken and half of the cheese into the sauce that has not been set aside.
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 2-quart baking dish and spread a little reserved sauce on the bottom. Add about 1/3 cup of the chicken filling to the middle of each tortilla and roll into a cylinder. Repeat, lining up tortillas, seam-side down, tightly in the dish. Spread the reserved sauce over the tortillas and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Cover the dish with aluminum foil and place in the oven. Bake until heated through, about 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake 10 minutes longer, until the cheese is melted. Serve with cilantro on top.
Mississippi Pot Roast
Another TikTok inspired meal. This one was sent to me by Melissa. Quote: "I’m eating this on rolls for lunch today and it’s sooooooo good." After a brief conversation: "On Hawaiian rolls is unreal 🤣🤤I never think of pepperoncinis as spicy but they for sure have a kick." I vowed to add it to our families meal rotation. I couldn't copy the exact recipe because I'm too stubborn to sign up for TikTok and I didn't want to handwrite the recipe, but I found a Mississippi Pot Roast recipe that is super similar.
Mississippi Pot Roast
Source: Lindsey Arnold (yay dancing with the stars) via Melissa Walker Lewis
1 packet ranch dressing mix
1 packet aus jus gravy mix
8–10 pepperoncini peppers (with 1/4 cup juice from jar)
1/4 cup butter, cut into 4 or 5 square pats
Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark
Instructions
Place the roast in your slow cooker.
Sprinkle the ranch dressing mix and aus jus mix over the top of the roast.
Add pepperoncini peppers on top of and around the roast.
Cut the butter into slices and arrange on top of the roast.
Add 1/4 cup pickle juice from pepperoncini jar to the bottom of the slow cooker.
Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or until the roast is fork tender. Internal temperature should be about 160° when you remove it to rest for at least 15 minutes before serving. In most slow cookers, my guess is this will be achieved by the 6 hour mark. If you’re cooking rump roast with the intention of slicing it, this may be the time you want to take it out and rest it. If your plan is to break the roast (rump or chuck) into larger chunks and pieces or to shred it, the full 8 hours will be more to your liking.

Notes
I find that the cut of roast I choose has more to do with how I plan to use the beef. When I want larger pieces or even slices of roast beef, I prefer a rump roast. This is the one I usually serve over mashed potatoes and my typical go-to.
However, if my plan is to shred the beef, then I choose a chuck roast. It just tends to fall apart on its own in the slow cooker. This lends itself well to French dip sandwiches or even over homemade noodles for a beef and noodles type of dish.
Both roasts work equally well. Both are tender and delicious. And, in our area, they are similarly priced.
Homemade Nacho Soup
We are on the hunt for the best "homemade Nacho Soup" recipe, because Campbells discontinued the key ingredient to our favorite recipe. Here are our top contenders:
https://www.thecookierookie.com/mexican-cheesy-chicken-chowder/
https://ohsweetbasil.com/cheesy-southwestern-chicken-tortilla-soup-recipe/
https://www.thereciperebel.com/creamy-nacho-potato-soup/
https://insidebrucrewlife.com/nacho-potato-chowder/
https://southernbite.com/chicken-corn-chowder/