Pollo Fundido

I was introduced to Pollo Fundito by my awesome niece, Sonja.  After thinking it over, I realize that many of my memories with her include yummy food!  When she was little, my Mom would take Dairy Queen Dilly Bars to share with the whole family.  Many years later, Sonja introduced me to a local Thai restaurant, a Hawaiian fish place, and lately, some awesome new Mexican food!  I love Sonja in many ways, and one of the yummiest is to follow her foodie ways!

I realized that of all my favorite Mexican food restaurants around here, none serve Pollo Fundido - I have had to learn to make it out of a delicious self-preservation - or make lots of visits to Arizona to see Sonja & eat Pollo Fundido!

Mediterranean Grain Bowl Salad

Some time ago, my sweet husband & I were visiting Cedar City, Utah, and stayed in the Comfort Inn & Suites there.  While there, we went into the cafe to grab a quick meal, & I chose the Mediterranean Grain Bowl.  It was fantastic & I wanted to make it at home.  To that end, here is my version.  I think it was a hit!

Southwest Chicken Salad

I found this recipe in a favorite cooking magazine while standing in line at the grocery store.  I bought the whole magazine for just this recipe.  Over the years, I’ve tweaked it & simplified it, but the taste is still heavenly!

This recipe is inspired from

http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/southwestern-grilled-chicken-salad-tomato-black-bean-salsa.aspx.  

If you prefer grilling or using the long, hard, messy directions, please go to the original.  They make a beautiful, layered salad, where mine (below) is chopped, mixed, and quickly ready to feed a family.

Scaredy Cat Chicken

This version of Chicken Alfredo is actually a combination of several recipes - feel free to adjust it based on whatever you have on hand & need to use up from your refrigerator!

A week of cooking in just a couple hours

I'm busy - I really am.  OK, I'm overbooked, over-scheduled, and over-busy (all my fault!).  When this happens (regularly), one of the places that I steal a bit of time from is cooking dinner.  Why cook when I can stop by my favorite drive-through & pay someone else to cook for me?!  Well, that's easy, but it's really hard on the budget, not to mention the nutrition-less problems!  So, this week, I planned ahead, spent some Saturday time cooking the meats, and I hope that the food will last much better this week!

Here's my menu:
     Saturday - Madison County Chicken
     Sunday - Sweet and Sour Meatballs + Summer Veggie Slaw
     Monday - Olive Garden Copy Cat Zuppa Toscana
     Tuesday - Southwestern Grilled Chicken Salad with Tomato and Black Bean Salsa
     Wednesday - Crock Sloppy Joes + more of the Summer Veggie Slaw
     Thursday - Pesto Vegetable Soup
     Friday - Ham and Potatoes Au Gratin (I substitute ham for the chicken in this recipe)
     Saturday - Slow Cooker Beef Enchilada Stack

Grandma's Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

A few years ago, when we were moving to Utah, we stayed with my niece, Sonja, and her wonderful family while we looked for a house.  Sonja is a wonderful cook, and a joy to be around.  While we were there, cold season came around, & Sonja made this yummy soup for me.  Note her addition at the bottom of the recipe!