Favorite Recipes from November

 

                Happy Thanksgiving! I know today is a busy day, and you don’t have time to read about recipes. But it feels appropriate to me that today is the day of food…and the day I want to share with you some of our favorites from the month of November! You’re welcome to put this post aside for a day when you have more time…and actually enjoy simply eating today!

White Queso Chicken Chili – I found this Dashing Dish Recipe back when we lived in Kokomo and have made it regularly ever since. While I often tweak recipes to fit our tastes, I follow this one pretty exactly. It is so good. I have made (and like) other white chicken chili recipes, but this one is my absolute favorite. It’s a filling dish – and pretty, too!

Gluten Free Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread – I’ve made other Dashing Dish cornbread recipes before, but I wanted to try this one to fulfill the Arizona recipe for my 50 Before 50 list. Apparently this kind of cornbread is an Arizona staple. To be fair, I subbed in mild green chilies for the jalapenos, because I am not super super fond of spicy foods. Next time I make it, I’ll use two cans of chilies instead of one. I only had one in the cabinet this time. It’s a tasty twist on plain cornbread! (Served this with the white queso chicken chili.)

Spaghetti and Meat Sauce – I made a big batch of the marinara sauce I’ve been making since our Kokomo days. It’s a 21 Day Fix recipe that I still really love. I make it and freeze it in one or two cup servings to thaw and use when I need a quick meal…like this one! I put combine 3-4 cups of the sauce with a pound of browned ground turkey to make the meat sauce. Then I serve it over palmini noodles. They aren’t nearly as heavy as pasta. One bag makes two servings, so Ryan and I can eat a whole meal out of one bag. Top it with a little cheese and…done!

Spinach Feta Frittata – I made this delicious frittata for a few of my breakfasts! I used white onion instead of red, because that’s what I have on hand on the regular. I also skipped the scallions because I forgot to buy them. I also skipped the cherry tomatoes because Ryan only likes them raw, not baked.

Protein Broccoli Cheddar Soup – I do dearly love the broccoli cheddar soup at Panera, so I was excited to find this healthy copycat version. I also loved it that this was a slow cooker recipe! I used frozen broccoli rather than fresh, and we did pull out the broccoli to run it through the food processor at the end to make it a little more authentic to the restaurant version. We both thought it was good – but it does stink. The house smelled rotten for days! For that reason, I may make a replacement soup for this one.

Healthier Hot Chicken Salad – Years (and years and years) ago, my friend Marie shared a hot chicken salad recipe with me and I adored it. It was full of mayo, cheese, and French fried onions, so eventually I reimagined it with yogurt, lighter servings of cheese, and green onions. Ryan and I love it, and I had not made it in quite some time. I decided to put it on the fall menu rotation, and we thoroughly enjoyed it!

Slow Cooker Chicken Fajitas – This one was so fast to throw in the slow cooker, and when we both came home after a long, long, long day, dinner was all ready. Ryan ate his over chips, and I ate mine in a bowl, topped with a little cheese, salsa, and Greek Yogurt. So yummy!

No Bake Cookies – Ryan had a craving, so we pulled out this no-fail, no-bake favorite!

No Boil Pizza Pasta Bake – I LOVED THIS!! Anytime I don’t have to mess with boiling noodles ahead?? WIN!! I used the chickpea pasta I love (because it doesn’t make me feel bloated and stuffed) and the homemade marinara sauce I had just made. It was so good. Easy to put together…but start early, because it does have to bake for about an hour.

Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Soup – We love a good mushroom soup, but I don’t think I’ve had a chicken/mushroom combo before. I chose to make this in the slow cooker (busy day) instead of on the stovetop, and it worked out great! I did not run it through the blender, so ours was more brothy than creamy, but it was tasty! Ryan wanted more salt, but I liked it the way it was.

Spinach Berry Salad – I made this to take to small group one night, and it was very well received! I did not make the vinaigrette because raspberries were crazy expensive. I used ranch dressing with ours and liked it. I  also used white onions rather than red, because it’s what we have on hand.

No Bake Berry Cheesecake Dessert – This is one of my favorites to make, though I do mine in a trifle bowl with more layers. I’ve made it many times for many occasions. This month I made it for Ryan to take to the GriefShare dinner.

Big Mac Tacos – I’ve made a Big Mac salad before, but I can’t remember if I’ve done the taco version. This was yummy!! For Ryan’s plate, I also through some tater tots in the air fryer, because he loves those. I made spinach tots (from Aldi) for myself. I buy those in the freezer section, and they’re 100% in the shape of dinosaurs, but I eat them anyway! LOL! They are made of spinach with some potato in them, but they’re at least a bit healthier than regular tots. (I eat five whenever I make them.)

Turkey Pumpkin Chili – Ryan was admittedly not sure about this one at first. Pumpkin in chili??? But it did have a good spicy (sweet spicy, not hot spicy) flavor. It reminded me of the flavor in Skyline Chili, which we both like, so it was good. And the pumpkin made it really thick. We enjoyed it!

Chicken Enchiladas – I ate mine in a low carb tortilla shell. Ryan ate his over chips. We both loved the flavor, and I loved how easily it all came together in the slow cooker. Perfect for a busy day!

Drop Sugar Cookies – I made these for a carry-in Ryan had at work and a party I had at church. Since I knew I needed to take dessert to both, this seemed like a win. Cookies are easy to divide! I love the flavor of sugar cookies, but I hate the process of rolling them and cutting them out. So this was the perfect compromise! I think I’ll make these again next month for another carry-in I’m hosting.

Chicken Alfredo Bake – I like alfredo, but I do not like all the calories that come with it. This was a much healthier spin on the alfredo flavor. I used palmini noodles in place of spaghetti squash, and by doing so, this was a really fast and easy meal. (Also…I made it before a night meeting at church and totally failed to get a picture of it!)

Baked Potato Soup – I stopped making loaded baked potato soup years ago because I hated messing with hot baked potatoes. For this recipe, I decided to buy a bag of cubed hash browns and pull out the equivalent of the potatoes in this recipe. I also used riced cauliflower in it. It came together quickly and was tasty.

Sloppy Joes – I did not make these in the slow cooker – just did them on the stovetop. While I always have cans of tomato paste in the cabinet, I somehow ran out, so that was missing from this one. I also added in a little lime juice instead of Worcestershire, because that’s what I always like about Mom’s sloppy joes – the tang of the lime juice.

Green GoddessSalad – I have never had the viral Green Goddess Salad mentioned in this recipe, but Ryan and I did really like this version. To save time, I bought a bag of coleslaw mix, rather than shredding a head of cabbage. This has good tang in the dressing – between the white vinegar and lemon juice!

Feta, Sausage, and Orzo Bake – This came together SO quickly. You dump all the ingredients in a baking dish, and the pasta cooks while it bakes. LOVE THAT. I had left this with directions for Ryan to put together while I was at a baby shower, just in case I didn’t get back in time, but I did! I threw it all in the dish, and it was yummy!

Slow Cooker Lasagna Casserole – This was so easy to throw together (once you brown the ground meat, of course) but Ryan didn’t love it. I’ll be striking this one from the list and looking for a replacement dish!